Daughter of Poseidon
by AnamariaJovel
Summary: Lily Reyes was just an ordinary teenager, living in California, hiding from her vivid imagination that always seemed so real. That is, until her mother reveals that she is a demigod, and they weren't only nightmares. She had powers, powers that she needed to learn to use, if she wanted to survive her stay at Camp Half-Blood, and her new family...The question remains. Will she?
1. Lily Reyes

"Daughter of Poseidon"

PJO fanfic

_**Lily's POV**_

So I don't know how it all began really, all I know is that I'm Lily Reyes and I'm a demigod. My mother, Karina had an affair with the Sea God, Poseidon, and here I am. She tells me this finally now, my sixteenth birthday, and I'm supposed to be moving. Where am I moving? Well I live in California, but now I alone am being shipped off to New York, Long Island to be exact. I'll be staying at a place called Camp Half Blood where other kids like me, ADHD dyslexic demigods, are safe from monsters. Honestly I'm worried I'll be the latest freak there. I've always been an outcast. The weirdo who sees things, and can't read or write well unless it's Greek. I'm afraid of many things, but my worst fear was coming true now. I was always told the monsters I've seen were in my imagination. The times I was surrounded by them, and almost died were only nightmares. But now I realize it's all been true. They meant to destroy me and all the times I've gotten out alive were just luck. When my mom first mentioned Gods, my mind went straight to Poseidon because of my weird 'powers' if you could call them that. I've almost killed people in the schools I've been to because of 'accidents' with the water and plumbing. Of course, I never meant to hurt anyone. It's just my temper always seems to connect me with the water. And yeah, I said schools. I've never really had a permanent education because of the mental breakdowns I have had. Some of the teachers I have met were evil, I knew it, and now I realize they were monsters trained to follow me. I'll never forget when my favorite teacher from Nightingale High followed me home and tried to kill me after transforming into something that looked like a cross of a lion and a dragon. I was terrified, but I got away by drowning it in a mini tsunami. I was taken away from my thoughts by my mother's question.

"Are you alright, Lily? I should've told you sooner, but now you will be safe." She said, her blue eyes filled with worry. My own eyes were sea foam green. Just like my father's. It never hit me until now. I nodded slightly, but I knew she wasn't convinced. I was never a good liar. At least not to her. She dismissed it anyway.

"You're leaving tonight. I packed your things while you were at school." She said, and I nodded again. I didn't want our last conversation to be a fight. I was still terrified this would go horribly wrong, but I hid my emotions.

"You'll be driven there by your friend Becky. I know better than to trust the skies that Zeus protects." Becky was my only friend in school. I don't know why but whenever I was kicked out she happened to be changing schools too so we were never separated. She always walked me home nowadays. She is very protective and I loved that. I was only hoping she wasn't dragged into my monster prone life too. My mom noticed I wasn't listening and waved her hand in front of my face. I've never had a great attention span. I think she said something about bringing my gold Ipod that she gave me yesterday for my birthday. This was definitely surprising considering she hadn't let me touch it since yesterday. Now she was letting me use it randomly. I had thought she would make me earn the right to use it, even though it was a gift.

"I can use my Ipod?" I yelped in glee. She nodded hesitantly.

"Only in dangerous situations," She said. I was confused. I can only listen to music in dangerous situations?

"What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned her.

"You'll find out when the time comes. Just _don't _press that center button unless you're in danger!" She said sternly. I decided to let the subject drop. When she used that tone she wasn't giving anymore information.

The conversation was over soon, and I was laying on my bed waiting for Becky to arrive. I guessed my mom had just told her I was moving to Long Island, not the part about monsters and demigods. I looked out my small bay window at the sun set. I knew Becky had to be close by now. As I laid back down, I grabbed my favorite book, _Misfits_, translated to Greek by my mom who works at a publishing company and started rereading it. I always felt secure reading that book; the characters were connected to me somehow. By the time I finished chapter one I heard my mom yelling for me in the living room. Becky was here, and I was leaving. I quickly stuffed _Misfits_ into my luggage, already prepared, and rushed outside after saying goodbye to my mother. If I was leaving I thought it was best to get it over with fast. Becky was already eighteen and I know you must be wondering how we met, but it's really not surprising. She had been left back twice from school (she won't tell me why) and knows how it feels to be teased and left out. In no time we were leaving California and on our way to New York.

_**One Week Later…**_

We were finally here. I took pictures on my cell phone as we passed the 'Welcome to New York' sign. After days and nights of fast food, radio music, and asking random pedestrians for directions we're almost to camp. I was relieved that no monsters had followed us. After an hour though, I was starting to get nervous. Becky was still driving me, and I thought she wasn't supposed to know about it. She stopped the car, by a tall hill surrounded by trees. At first I didn't see anything but then I saw it, the gates to Camp Half Blood. I could feel my connection to it. I got out of the car and started walking toward the gates, and I heard Becky following me. Did she see the gates too? Was she just like me? Right before I reached the base of the hill I heard a rip and turned around. Becky wasn't there anymore. A large wolf like creature stood where she was. I screamed.

"Guess you didn't suspect as much, Lily?" It yelled, and I recognized the voice. The monster was Becky. I knew I was trembling, and I remembered what my mom told me.

"_Only in dangerous situations…"_

I felt for the Ipod in my pocket, pulled it out and pressed the button. For a minute nothing happened, and I watched Becky advance on my trembling stature. But then it happened. The Ipod tansformed into a golden sword; it felt like it belonged in my hands. Becky froze and I swung the sword at her calf, barely making a dent in her deep fur. She laughed evilly. I didn't know what else to do and just started running.

"Help! Someone help!" I yelled toward the gates, hoping someone would hear. My sword was still in my hand as I raced Becky to the gates. I was beginning to lose speed just as a saw a boy's figure running out from the gates toward me. He had black messy hair and green eyes like mine. I was getting dizzy, and I knew Becky was getting closer. I saw him take out a pen, uncapping it and I watched it grow into a sword. I was close to the gates when I collapsed to the dirt in exhaustion. The boy was still running toward me. I tried to crawl toward him but I didn't make it far before I blacked out.

**A/N: Ok, so what do you guys think? Who was it that ran to save Lily? Maybe someone whose name sounds like Peter Johnson? See what I did there? Don't worry there will be more on Percy and other PJO characters as soon as Lily gets into Camp! **_**If **_**she gets to camp! MWAHAHA! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. I HAVE A SISTER!

_**Lily's POV**_

"Do you think she's ok?" I heard a boy's voice say, from not too far away. I was still too weak to open my eyes.

"I don't know, I'm just happy you got her out before the monster could do any serious damage. Of course that is, other than extreme exhaustion." I heard a girl reply. I could tell they were standing by whatever it was I was laying on. I felt soar all over, and suddenly the memories of what had happened came flooding back.

_The boy with sea-green eyes. Running, lots of running. Becky. Becky was a monster. I almost died. I almost _DIED.

I groaned at my own recollection, and I heard the boy and girl come closer.

"Um, can you hear us?" The boy asked, picking up my hand gently. I slowly opened my eyes and there he was. The boy with the sea-green eyes; the boy who saved my life.

"I would be dead if it weren't for you," I whispered in my raspy voice. His eyes were clouded with obvious worry and he passed me a glass filled with a golden substance.

"Here, have some Ambrosia. You need to heal." He told me, and I grabbed the glass with my stronger arm.

"But won't this kill me?" I asked, and he seemed embarrassed.

"No, demigods can have it, just not too much. It strengthens us when we're ill or hurt." He replied calmly, and I took a sip. It tasted like my mom's infamous ice cream pie. I sipped more, and soon enough the glass was empty.

"Thanks, I'm Lily. Lily Reyes." I told him, and already my voice sound clearer.

"I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon." He replied. I was shocked. He- he was my _half-brother. _Practically blood relative. I wasn't an only child anymore.

"I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." She said, though I wasn't exactly listening. I was thinking about Percy. He was my _half-brother_. Those two words have never been that important to me until now.

"You're my brother, Percy." I blurted out, and I could tell he was shocked too.

"What?" He asked, in barely a whisper.

"My mom. She told me before I left who I was. She told me my father was the Sea God Poseidon." I told him.

"I have a sister? I have a sister! You're my sister!" He yelped in awe, and I saw a faint glow. I noticed Annabeth and Percy staring above my head.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You've been claimed. You really are my sister. I have to go get Chiron!" Percy exclaimed. He rushed out of the room before I could say more and it was only Annabeth and I. The awkwardness made me want to go back to sleep. But I knew she must've been important to Percy for him to invite her to my recovery room. I couldn't believe Percy alone had killed Becky. But then again he looked a few years older than me.

"It's great to meet another child of one of the Big Three. Percy's cabin was always a bit large for only one person." Annabeth said, breaking the silence.

"Percy's the only other child of Poseidon?" I asked her, curious.

"Well, technically he has a Cyclops brother, Tyson. But you're the only demigod sibling to Percy." Annabeth explained, and I totally could see the Athena in her. I smiled, and tried to lift my head up. My head was throbbing so I decided to wait awhile before that. She saw me wince, and handed me another glass of Ambrosia.

"Here, this will take the headache away quick," She said with a smile. I loved her blonde curly hair. I've always wanted curly hair. Instead I got jet black straight hair with barely any volume to it. I always had it in a ponytail for that reason. My eyes were the biggest contrast to all of my features. The sea-foam green was always a showstopper against my pale skin, and my hair. I realized how much Percy and I looked alike, and I totally forgot that Annabeth was speaking to me.

"Lily? Are you alright?" She asked, waving her hand in front of my eyes.

"Sorry, I guess I was just daydreaming." I told her, averting my eyes because of my shame.

"You should probably get some sleep anyway. I could leave if you want?" Annabeth said, and I was glad. I didn't want to have to ask her for some space; it just seemed rude compared with how nice she was treating me.

I nodded, shutting my eyes and I heard the door close soon after. I was almost off into a dream state when I heard the door open again. I kept my eyes closed just in case it was Annabeth. Don't get me wrong, I think we'll be great friends, but I was really tired despite the Ambrosia and wanted my rest. I heard whoever it was walk closer to me, and I heard gallops behind that. Who was bringing a horse in here?

"Ah, so this is Miss Reyes. Your half-sister," I heard an older man's voice say. I knew the other person had to be Percy, but I was still wondering about the gallop I heard as they came in.

"Yeah, I found her outside the gates unconscious after being attacked by a monster. I brought her here and when she woke up, she was claimed." Percy told the man.

"I think we should move her into her permanent cabin. It will be easier for her to rest in a place that feels more like home." The man said. I heard Percy groan in defiance.

"Do I have to wake her now, Chiron? She looks so peaceful. And she's weak." Percy said, and I could hear the anger in his tone. He obviously didn't like _Chiron's_ idea.

"If you do not, I'm afraid I'll have to. I expect more of you Percy. You know this is for the best." Chiron replied sternly. Sure enough I heard Percy's footsteps as he came closer to my bed. I let him try a bit before I 'woke up' because I didn't want him knowing I was eavesdropping. When I finally opened my eyes, grief was in his.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but I have to bring you to our cabin." He said, he looked guilty and I didn't want him to feel guilty.

"It's alright," It was only after I finished answering Percy that I noticed the centaur at the other side of the room, by the door. Chiron was a centaur. That's why I heard the gallop. Chiron chuckled at my face.

"Welcome to Camp Half Blood, Lillian." I was blushing. He thought my name was Lillian. It was only Lily.

"It's only Lily, sir." I told him.

**A/N: Ok so there will be more action coming up as I don't just want this story to be plot-less…Tell me what you thought of Percy's reaction to his new sister!**


	3. Family FUN

_**An outside POV (In the Underworld)**_

"Finally, another _worthless _child of my dear brother Poseidon. Don't you think she'd love to meet me son?" Hades roared, staring deeply at his young son Nico. Nico noticeably cowered at his fathers might unable to turn away from his cloak of passed on souls who were sewed into the fabric. But of course he couldn't leave his father, a God, without an answer. So he stood straight and planned his words as carefully as he could.

"Dad, Percy is my friend. I can't just kidnap his sister." Nico told his father, which earned him a cold glare. Again the young boy cowered noticing that the skeleton guards had suddenly appeared as if ready to attack him for his disrespect and incompliance.

"She has no training, so it will be easy to get her away from the camp," Hades continued in his plans, ignoring Nico as if he had never disagreed. "Plus, you said _Percy_ was your friend. Not Lillian." Hades finished. Nico could tell his father was already fuming. Hades wasn't going to take a no when it came to humiliating and destroying the brothers that had hurt him before.

"Fine, I'll do it. But please don't hurt Lily." Nico said, giving up the argument. Hades smiled deviously.

"Good my boy, and I will not hurt the girl." Hades replied cheerily, the anger already having been released. Hades snapped his fingers before Nico could say goodbye making Nico disappear from the Underworld, headed back to Camp Half Blood. As soon as Nico was gone, Hades began to chuckle.

"Oh son? About the promise to not hurt the girl, _I lied._" He whispered into the darkness, finishing off his evil laughter in the silent and dark throne room.

_**Back to Lily's POV (In her cabin with Percy, late at night)**_

"Good night Lily." Percy whispered to me from the twin bed opposite mine in our now shared cabin. Sleepily I just turned my head and nodded at him, which gained me a small giggle for my new half-brother. This day has been crazy, finally getting to camp, being attacked by a monster, finding out I have a brother; I just have to heal completely before Percy will willingly show me around this place. He mentioned something about training earlier, and to be honest I can't wait. I think about taking on Percy myself until I fall off into a deep sleep.

_**AN HOUR AFTER BOTH PERCY AND LILY HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP**_

I wake up startled to the sound of someone opening the door to our cabin. Glancing at the clock I see it's only eleven PM and I think it may just be Percy. But that doesn't make sense. By now the harpies are waiting for wandering children to leave their cabins so they can gain a free snack. That thought makes me nervous, but what makes it worse is that I feel something grab my arm. So I scream. I can't see and whatever it is tightens its grip on me, only making my scream louder. As I'm pulled out of my own cabin I finally hear Percy get up, unaware of the screaming for only a moment before I can feel that he knows it's coming from me.

"Lily!" I hear him scream before I hit the moonlight outside and finally see my captor. It's a young boy with dark hair and dark clothes. Out of the corner of my eye I can see that Percy is running toward us, still screaming my name but by now I can barely hear it. And we disappear out of thin air before I can stop the boy.

_**Percy's POV**_

"Lily!" I scream at my sister who was being carried away by some shadowed figure. I couldn't let him escape, so I grabbed Riptide from my pocket. But just as I uncapped the pen, Lily and the boy disappeared out of nowhere with the darkness. I stopped running towards them and started running toward the Big House. I needed to tell Chiron that Lily was kidnapped before they get any farther away from camp. _I can't lose her. I already know what it feels like to lose a sibling. I almost lost Tyson._ I reached the house before any harpies found me and started to bang on the door repeatedly until a surprising face opened the door.

"Percy?" Annabeth questions, and quickly pulls me into the house. Before I can tell her anything she scolds me.

"Why are you outside this late? I don't need my boyfriend to be eaten!" She yelled, so I kissed her. You know just what any boyfriend does to make his girlfriend stop talking. She pulled away in shock and just stared at me. I took this as my cue.

"Lily's been kidnapped! Some guy took her and I tried to chase after them but they escaped! Where's Chiron we need to find her!" I yell, and Annabeth puts on a calculating face. She sighs and leaves me in the hall, coming back with Chiron in tow. Before I can explain to Chiron what happened he stops me.

"Annabeth told me the tragic events that have occurred. So I am sending you, Annabeth and Thalia on a quest to find her. My three strongest, and brightest campers. But you must leave immediately. The time is of the essence. I have already called Thalia's cabin so she can ready herself. You and Annabeth must prepare too. I would like you to leave before breakfast." Chiron ordered, and Annabeth and I left the Big House quickly. We agreed to meet up with Thalia at the gates when we were all ready, and then separated. I ran to my cabin and grabbed an emergency bag of Ambrosia, Lily's IPod (she already told me what it did) and Annabeth's cap or invisibility. Yes I had it in my cabin. You don't need to know why. Soon I was already outside again racing to the gates where I saw Annabeth and Thalia already waiting.

"You brought my cap?" Annabeth asked me and I tossed it at her. Thalia looked from me to Annabeth and spoke.

"Don't worry we'll find her, Jackson." She said, slapping me in the head softly.

"I hope we do," I whispered, us all running out of the gates into the forest and down the hill ahead. We had to find Lily. There was no option.


	4. Visiting the Underworld

_**Lily's POV**_

After disappearing in a flurry of shadows and darkness the boy and I suddenly reappear in a dark, gloomy area. Just by looking at some of the floating, iridescent figures I know we are not in the land of the living anymore. I don't really believe in religion, but I'm positive this is no heaven.

"Where are we? Am I dead?" I whispered, frightened at the three headed dog staring my way with disgust.

"The Underworld. And if you were dead, you'd be standing on that line over there awaiting judgment." The boy speaks, still rushing forward with me in tow. We seem to be heading toward a large castle in the distance. But I don't care about that. All I can think about now is Percy, and how worried he must be. I already stopped struggling against the boy's grasp. I'm too afraid that if I escape him, I'll never escape the Underworld. I just don't know why he kidnapped me in the first place.

"Who are you?" I ask, but the boy ignores me. So I try a different tactic.

"What did I ever do to you for you to kidnap me?" I continue.

"It's my dad that wants you, not me." He says quietly. Suddenly I realize who the castle belongs to.

"Hades? Hades is your father?" I say, already sure of the answer. And in Greek Mythology, Hades held a grudge against his brothers Zeus and Poseidon for quite some time. So, does Hades want to _kill _me?

"What does Hades want from me?" I asked, terrified of the boy's answer.

"You should be a bit more respectful to the king of the Underworld. And don't worry. I made him promise not to hurt you." The boy says, still dragging me forward. His expression is cold, and his eyes lifeless. Something tells me this kid has family issues. But I wasn't about to get into that. We had finally reached the entry to the castle. Skeletons that stood guard opened up the doors immediately, knowing that Hades' son was always welcome. When we got inside I could feel the radiating fear in the large throne room. It was emanating from the god himself, Hades. Sitting he was about ten feet tall, and he wore a pitch black cloak with faces sticking out of the cloth. I already knew those faces were not just elaborate stitching. Hades' eyes bore into my soul, and I bowed down to him, the boy following my lead.

"My son. You have not failed me. Now, be gone so the girl and I can talk." Hades said. The boy nodded and left the room. The god watched me almost curiously in silence for a few minutes before I broke the silence.

"Mr. Hades sir. It's a pleasure to meet you," I said, a little unsure of how to speak to someone with such power.

"You are a daughter of Poseidon correct?" He asked.

"Yes, Mr. Hades sir." I replied, trying to keep the peace. He nodded and snapped his fingers. Instantly I collapsed to the ground in pain. He was the one who had caused it. It was like being on fire, then being whipped while on fire. Within a few minutes I could not breathe. But I refused to scream in front of him. I wanted to be strong, even though I was seconds away from passing out. He sat on his throne laughing at me, and the last thing I saw was his black cloak before everything went black.

_**An Outside POV (In Hades' Palace)**_

"Throw her in the dungeon guards! And, make sure you aren't careful at all. Perhaps you could break a few bones on the way down, or cause blood loss. Treat her like a true daughter of Poseidon," Hades boomed, laughing at the crumpled and unconscious girl in front of him. The skeletons stepped forward and held her arms, dragging her body behind them carelessly as they made their way to the dungeons. By the time they dropped her off at the cell Hades assigned her she was beaten and bleeding, still unconscious. They didn't bother to offer her any medical assistance, knowing that Hades would punish them to an eternity of extra labor. But they also knew that she would bleed to death in three days at most without at least a wrap for her open wounds. She'd die earlier if she caught an infection.

_**Percy's POV**_

"How are we going to find her if we have no idea who could've taken her!" I yelled, sitting down on a rock in the forest we'd just arrived at.

"You said they disappeared into the forest right? Well we should be right on their trail! We didn't leave too long after they did Jackson." Thalia said, leaning against a tree. Annabeth had her calculating face on. I hope she's thinking of a clear plan. I can't take just wandering aimlessly.

"You described their escape as just disappearing. What if they shadow traveled? They could be half way across the country by now," Annabeth said slowly, still thinking about it. I frowned. There's only one person I knew could shadow travel. But it couldn't have been Nico. He wouldn't have kidnapped my sister, he's my friend.

"She has to be in the Underworld. If Nico took her it was only for his father." I spoke out loud by accident. Both Thalia and Annabeth looked at me.

"How are we going to get there?" Thalia questioned. Annabeth put her hand on my shoulder.

"I have some spare drachmas, how about we visit the DOA?" She said, already starting to go deeper into the forest. Thalia and I followed, Annabeth was the obvious leader in this case.

"So you do think she's in the Underworld?" I asked Annabeth, jogging to catch up with her.

"You said she disappeared, meaning whoever took her shadow traveled. Nico is the only person we know could do that. And you're right Nico is your friend, he'd never hurt you on purpose. So it had to be Hades who sent him to take her. It only makes sense because of his long standing grudge with you and Thalia's fathers." Annabeth explained. I trusted Annabeth's judgment more than my own. She is the daughter of Athena. We walked in silence for a while until we reached the highway.

"We need to get a ride to California. Hitchhiking is not safe." Annabeth tells us, pacing back and forth in thought. I remember back to the first time Annabeth, Grover and I visited the DOA. We took a variety of vehicles and transportation to get there. I agree with her of course. I don't want to meet another Medusa, or see another angry God on our way there. We stand there on the edge of the forest thinking until a mysterious dark van stops in front of us. Annabeth and I step back, but Thalia goes up to the driver's window. We watch as the window slides down to reveal Argus, our security guard from camp.

"What are you doing here?" Thalia asks.

"Chiron said you may need a ride to find Percy's sister?" He replied. However Chiron knew we needed to get to California, I was grateful. We knew we could trust Argus, and so we all got into the van. It wouldn't be long now until Lily and I were reunited. I can only hope she's not hurt somewhere without anyone. Otherwise, I may not be able to forgive Nico.


	5. Hades' Wife

_**Lily's POV**_

I wake up in the most pain imaginable, surrounded by my own blood. I could barely move without making the blood flow faster from my wounds, and I didn't want to pass out again. Laying there I thought of what Percy was doing now. Was he looking for me? If he was would he be able to get past Hades? I just didn't want him in the same position as me. I felt so dizzy, even without making the slightest movement. I already knew my end was near. My vision was blurry and I have barely enough energy to lift a finger. I still don't know how to use my power as a demigod. I haven't spent a day training at camp yet. I don't even have a weapon to attempt escape.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" I try to shout, to no avail. I guess either no one is there, or they've all already died. I wondered if Hades would give me fair judgment after my death. Would he send me to eternal punishment just because I am a child of Poseidon? I guess this was punishment enough by leaving me to die. But he also could've killed me right away, so this is a sort of improvement in reality. I was taken out of my thoughts by the sound of someone knocking on the metal bars of my cell. I turned my head just enough to see a beautiful, tall woman leaning against the bars. Her black hair flowed off her shoulders and her warm brown eyes allowed me to trust her. She wore a white dress, and held a flower in one hand.

"You must be Persephone." I gasped. I knew it was her because Hades has a wife. And she fits the exact description of the goddess.

"Yes, I am dear. I heard you are a daughter of Poseidon? This means you are the half-brother of the hero. Perseus Jackson." She spoke with such grace. I nodded my head as best as I could. I was awe-struck.

"I'm sorry about this dear I truly am," She said, gesturing at me and my pool of blood.

"But I didn't want to get in my husband's way. Anyway I should be leaving now. My mother is still trying to feed oats to the Furies." She finished and began to turn away.

"Please, can't you let me out?" I asked as politely as possible.

"I'm sorry I can't dear." She replied, disappearing from view, already far from my cell. I heard her footsteps fade and soon I was left alone again. I was already feeling the dizziness again and soon I was seeing a multitude of colors. Before I knew it, everything went dark.

_**Percy's POV**_

We're officially about halfway to California. It's taking forever, and now I'm hearing that Argus may not even be able to take us all the way to the DOA. Annabeth, Thalia and I have been squished into this van for miles, only living off small sandwiches that Thalia had brought with her. None of us was smart enough to bring water on this journey.

"Percy you want some water? You look parched." Annabeth spoke, and I stand corrected. I guess it was dumb of me to think Annabeth wasn't smart enough when she's a daughter of Athena.

"Yeah sure, thanks." I say, taking a small bottle from her hand. I gulp down the entire drink and she smiles.

"We'll be there soon," Annabeth whispers, leaning her head on my shoulder. I can feel her loose curls on my neck. Thalia pretends to gag, and I elbow her playfully.

"Hey Argus, maybe we can drop off Jackson at the nearest beach and he can swim the rest of the way to California." Thalia shouts at our driver, which of course earns her a cold glare from me. Besides our playful banter I've been a bit depressed lately. Any little thing seems to set me into this mood. I just don't want to arrive in the Underworld to find Lily dead. Hades hates my dad, he'd kill her if it meant hurting Poseidon. I thought about her having no training and no alliances and soon lulled myself into sleep.

_In Percy's dreams…_

_I saw Lily, lying motionless on the stone floor of Hades' cells for prisoners. She was surrounded in a pool of blood. A pool of her own blood. I tried running towards her limp body but the metal bars of her cell stood in my way. I tried banging on the bars until I heard her stir. She opened her eyes slowly and turned her head toward me._

"_Percy where are you?" She whispered, her voice raspy and weak. She was shaking. I reached into my pocket to grab Riptide and felt nothing. I couldn't save her. She was already close to death from the blood loss._

_In Reality…_

I wake up to notice a passing road sign that said "Welcome to Nevada." Which meant we were almost there. This also meant Argus was about to kick us out of his van. I decided not to tell Annabeth or Thalia about my dream. We were already one step closer to saving my sister.

_**Lily's POV**_

I open my eyes slowly to the world around me. At first I hope maybe I'm back in Percy and I's cabin, but the smell of coppery blood reminds me of my very serious plight. It's a wonder that I'm still alive really. I turn my head toward the bars of the cell.

"Percy where are you?" I whisper to the empty space. I really hope that he's alright. Even if I'm the one slowly bleeding to death I can't help feeling he's in worse danger by coming for me. Or at least, I think he's coming for me. I can tell I really only have hours left. I'm still losing blood and I've been held here for almost a full day. I've passed out three times now, and I'm only getting dizzier and weaker. Not to mention my vision has gone from bad to worse. I wonder if Annabeth is with Percy. She was so nice to me when we met. I just don't want her to get hurt by following Percy on this crazy dangerous 'adventure' to save me.

"How did I get us all into this?" I spoke to myself again. If only I wasn't a demigod. I wouldn't have put Percy or Annabeth in any danger if they never knew me.

Maybe I should even welcome death. Maybe death is my true destiny…

**A/N: Ok, sorry there's not a lot of action right now. But when Percy comes to save Lily at last, THINGS ARE GONNA GET CRAZY! Trust me! :D Please R&amp;R!**

**Percy: "What have you done to my sister?!"**

**Me: "Don't worry she'll be fine," (OR WILL SHE?!) **

**MWAHAHA! Feeling kind of evil today… :D**


	6. Nico's Guilt

_**Lily's POV**_

Just as I thought of the possibilities for killing myself now I heard someone move.

"Wh-who's there?" I whispered into the darkness of my cell, actually hoping I got an answer. At this point I was beginning to feel like I was losing my sanity. I soon heard footsteps and out came the boy who kidnapped me. How did he even get inside my cell? I guess he could do whatever he pleased down here. Either way I wasn't in the mood for a guest who could torture me further.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know my father would do this. But I'm going to try and make it up to you. I can help you escape." The boy spoke softly, as if Hades was listening to him speak now.

"Who are you anyway?" I asked, trying to stall. I didn't want him taking me anywhere.

"Nico di Angelo." He said. He looked almost ashamed of himself.

"How did you even figure out what your dad did? You left before anything happened." I said, still very angry at Nico. He kidnapped me then tries to save me?

"I can sense when someone is dying. My dad lied to me. I swear he promised he wouldn't hurt you. I honestly thought he just wanted to see you in person!" Nico pleaded with me, and I was starting to believe him. I didn't see Nico as someone who would try to hurt me. He was just a kid, probably afraid of what his father could've done to him. So I decided I'd let him help me.

"Ok, I believe you Nico. If you know how we can get out of here, then let's try it." I told him, giving as big a smile I could muster through the pain. By the look on his face it must've just occurred to him that I was still lying on the cold ground bleeding to death.

"I'll be right back, I need to get something to stop the bleeding before we go. If we try now, you'll die before we reach the three headed dog." He said, disappearing before I could say any more. This was really happening. Nico was going to save me. But I couldn't help wondering what this could mean for Percy if he was still looking for me. If he realized I was in the Underworld, he could get into serious trouble even though I won't be here anymore. I'm so selfish. First I was thinking about suicide, then about escape. I didn't even think about what any of those options could do to Percy. Maybe I should tell Nico to just leave me here anyway and let Percy save me.

_**Percy's POV**_

We're finally here. DOA Recording Studios. The dark, seemingly abandoned building towers over Annabeth, Thalia, and I. And it only took a few hours after Argus dropped us off. Now all we had to do was bribe Charon and get to Hades palace. Thalia walked up to the door and looked in at all the ghostly figures, some that had waited thousands of years for their opportunity to go down to the Underworld.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Thalia shouted towards Annabeth and me, pushing the door open and walking inside. We followed her in, and soon we stood in front of Charon, sitting behind his receptionist desk. He glared at us for a moment, most likely remembering Annabeth and I, and then smiled noticing the bag filled with drachmas in Thalia's arms.

"Need another trip down stairs Perseus Jackson?" Charon regarded me. I nodded and he grabbed the bag from Thalia, inspecting it as if to find fake coins.

"Very well, the next boat should be leaving now, follow me children." Charon spoke, nodding his satisfaction with the bag of drachmas. We all walked behind him to Charon's boat down to the Underworld.

"When we get in, you might want to hold on to something. The ride is a little _bumpy_." I whispered to Thalia, knowing her fear of heights. We were going to basically fall into the Underworld. She nodded in understanding and took one of my hands. Annabeth took the other and I felt instantly responsible for getting them both into the crazy quest. But I guess it's too late to regret any of this. We're already here. We all stepped into Charon's boat, and I felt the grips on my hands tighten. Sitting down together I saw Annabeth and Thalia use their free hands to grip the edge of the row boat. Charon smiled at us, and instantly we fell.

"Ahhh!" We all seemed to scream in unison. But as soon as it began it stopped. Within the same minute we were floating above the Underworld, no longer falling. Now Charon got out a paddle and started to 'row' us past the River Styx. Annabeth let go of my hand but Thalia only held on tighter, turning my skin a pale white.

"Thalia are you alright?" Annabeth asked her friend, and Thalia just nodded quickly with her eyes closed. We rode along in silence for a few minutes until Charon docked us near the three headed guard dog Cerberus. We all got off and Thalia let go of my hand walking so far ahead I thought maybe she was embarrassed about it. As soon as Cerberus saw Annabeth he came running towards us, probably expecting her to have a ball with her. Annabeth held out her hand and Cerberus immediately halted. Smiling she pulled a red ball out of her pocket and tossed it at the huge dog. I hadn't realized she had it. I mean she didn't know we were going to the Underworld at first.

"How did you get the ball?" I asked her. As we walked past the happy three headed dog she replied.

"I admit I didn't know we were coming here at first, but I decided to bring it anyway. I guess you could call it a hunch." Annabeth said.

"Wow Wise Girl. Nice work." I said, smiling at her. I think I was only able to stay happy knowing that we'd be with Lily soon. We're so close now. I can feel it. I know she just has to be here.

_**Lily's POV**_

Nico still hasn't returned and I'm beginning to get worried about him. Did his father figure out what he was planning? Was he killed because of me?

"Nico? Are you there?" I ask pointlessly. I would've known if he'd come back. At this point I can barely keep my eyes open. But I can't pass out now. Nico needs to know that I want to stay now. But if he doesn't show up soon I'm going to lose it.

"Lily I'm back," Was the last thing I heard before everything got dark.


	7. Her Savior

_**Nico's POV**_

"Lily I'm back," I whispered, stepping out of the darkness. The first thing I saw was an unconscious Lily. Oh thank the gods she wasn't dead. I'd know if she was. The puddle around her seemed to have doubled in the time I was gone. But I can fix this. I brought three full roles of medical wraps. I just have to believe it's enough. Walking over to her I kneel down on a section of dried blood and pick up her hand gently. Immediately a warm red liquid starts to flow faster from a gash on her wrist. What has my father done? With my free hand I start to undo the medical wrap and roll it up her entire arm, soon ending the bleeding on her left arm and shoulder. But I can tell she has many more injuries to be fixed.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die. I have to fix my mistake and make it up to you and Percy," I whispered to her, knowing she couldn't hear me while unconscious. I just had to keep going.

_**Percy's POV**_

Hades palace lies beyond us. A huge demonic kingdom that we're going to barge into. It may be stupid, and will probably get us killed, but it's the only way to get to Lily. Hades is the only one who knows where she is. So I hold onto Riptide in my pocket, and I can see Thalia rubbing her silver bracelet and Annabeth's hand toward her dagger's sheath. I walk inside first, the guards hardly hesitate in letting me in. Just by Hades' face I can tell he saw me coming. He sits there, smug with himself on his throne of bones smiling at us three who dare to come into his castle.

"And so the hero of a brother comes to save the day! Oh how I love a happy ending, except…_I don't_." Hades boomed, laughing hysterically. I took my chance.

"Where is my sister?" I asked him and he glared mischievously at my friends and I.

"I have to admit I'm surprised you'd dare bring a daughter of Zeus into my lands with you hero. And what's this, a daughter of Athena as well. I remember Annabeth Chase from our first unfortunate meeting. A pleasure to see you again my dear." He addressed us all, I saw Annabeth glare back to him.

"You didn't answer the question. Where's Jackson's sister?" Thalia spoke up, walking closer to the god. His nostrils flared in frustration. He was done playing games.

"Guards let's show these three heroes to the dungeon where we keep such scum. But leave them alive, my wife would be nuts if I hurt a hair on Perseus Jackson's head." Hades yelled, and I felt a skeleton guard grab my arms from behind. I saw Thalia struggling against her guard's grasp. Annabeth looked like she wanted to scream. I saw a spider crawling up her guard's arm. We were all walked out of the throne room, at least he didn't just kill us on the spot. My plan was going better than I thought. Once the guards left us in the cells I could just use Riptide to get us loose. Plus I know Lily has to be down there. Hades' reaction to us proved that much.

"Lily? Is anyone there?" I whispered into the darkness ahead of us. There was no reply. I still kept my hopes up though I wasn't sure what to expect. A safe sleeping Lily? A damaged, insane Lily? (Just like what happened to that Chris Rodriguez before Mr. D fixed him.) I couldn't help but think it was the latter when the closer we got to the cells the more silent everything became. It was eerier than I remember. I could only hear our own breathing and footsteps. Finally the guards stopped us. A door opened into a dark cell and we were pushed inside, the guards locking the door to our cell. My eyes were only just starting to adjust to the dim light, but I knew something was different now. I could hear the unsteady and labored breathing of one more person than there should've been. When my eyes fully adjusted I saw her. Lily lay on the ground unconscious before me, bleeding from one side and half bandaged on the other. Then I saw him. Nico stood to her side, holding an un-used roll of medical wrap. I totally ignored his looks of sorrow.

"Lily! Can you hear me?!" I shouted a little too loudly, huddling over her body. I noticed Nico kneel down on her other side, staring at me. I didn't look at him. I had almost forgotten that Thalia and Annabeth were there too.

"We need to get out of here." Thalia spoke softly, aware of the tenseness between Nico and I.

"Percy I'm sorry. I feel horrible for taking her, but my dad forced me. I didn't know he would do this." Nico spoke, he sounded hurt that I still avoided his gaze. I glared at him.

"You didn't know your father would do this?! He's the god of the Underworld! He hates my father with a passion! How could you?" I yelled, ignoring Annabeth's warm hand trying to sooth me. I was too furious with him right now.

"Percy I realized what he did and came back to save her! I'm trying to help you, don't you see that!?" He shouted back, gesturing to Lily's bandaged arm and his roll of medical wrap. He was trying to _save her_?! She's dying! And it's his fault for kidnapping her! I got up and walked toward Nico, my hand enclosing around Riptide in my pocket. I didn't care at the time. When I was angry I did things without thought. And right now I was very angry.

"Percy don't do something stupid. What's important now is getting Lily to the infirmary at camp, where she'll be safe." Annabeth said, and I lashed out at her.

"Stupid? For a daughter of Athena you really don't seem to understand the situation! Lily is dying because of him! And he's acting like her savior because he had a slight change of heart all of a sudden!" I yelled, and I could see in Annabeth's eyes that I'd crossed the line. She turned away from me completely and knelt down in front of Lily. I was immediately guilty.

"Annabeth, I-I don't know why I said that. I'm sorry…" I trailed off, and she ignored me. I noticed Thalia glare my way. Turning back to Nico I realized just how stupid I was. Annabeth was right, we need to get out of here. Nico and I could talk this out later. What was important now was Lily.

"Finish putting on the wraps, then we'll find some way to escape." I whispered toward Nico, ashamed with myself. Nico kneeled next to Annabeth without a word and together they went to work. I just stood by the cell bars thinking of ways to apologize to her. For what seemed like hours they worked in silence and soon enough they were done. Nico spoke to us all without turning away from Lily's limp body.

"We can shadow-travel out of here but I can only take one person at a time." Nico said, and with silent agreement we knew the first to go would be Lily. And after picking her up in his arms Nico and Lily vanished, leaving me and the two girls who now hated me alone in the dark…

**A/N: Well they found Lily, that's about the only good thing that happened in this update! Other than that an angry Percy said something he really shouldn't have and now Annabeth won't speak to him. (Neither will Thalia) And of course Nico is mad that Percy won't listen to him…So what do you guys think will happen? Will Percy be able to win Annabeth back? Will he ever forgive Nico? And will Lily survive? Please R&amp;R!**


	8. Revenge, Simplified

_**Nico's POV**_

While inside the infirmary at camp, I'd almost forgotten to go back for Percy, Annabeth and Thalia. Honestly, Lily was my first priority. Percy was already fuming with me. If I let her die, he'd kill me. Plus, I'd be guilty for killing her. I kidnapped her, and regret it deeply. She was in the hands of whom I felt was the most respected and intelligent Apollo kid. Will Solace. He'd promised to get her out of this alive, though he did mention that she'd lost too much blood. So that was it. I decided it was best not to wait for the news on Lily, I needed to go get the others out of my dad's dungeons first. Who knows what Hades has in store for them? I left the infirmary quickly, and once I was in the forest I traveled back in the cover of darkness.

_**Percy's POV**_

I have to admit I was surprised when Nico reappeared only a few minutes after he'd left. But it didn't change my anxiety about the situation. I'd made Nico, Annabeth and Thalia mad at me and Lily was still gravely ill.

"So who's going next?" Nico asked. Neither Annabeth nor Thalia spoke up so I did. I was her brother, so maybe I should get the right away.

"Take me," I say. Somehow my two words earned an ice-cold glare from Thalia. I'd hurt Annabeth, that was enough to make her hate me with all her passion. Nico just grabbed my hand and we were gone in a flurry of light and dark. I'd say that through the traveling I was brave and totally calm, but that'd be a complete lie. Never having traveled before I was shaking and screaming, unable to even keep my eyes open. Something I don't admit when I'm wiping my eyes after we stop. I know Nico must've heard or saw me but he didn't say a word. And I'm grateful for that.

"She's with Will in the infirmary next to Apollo's cabin. I'm sure you know where that is so I'll just head back for Annabeth and Thalia." He says.

"Thank you," I reply, turning around only to see that he's gone. So I just turn back toward camp and run as fast as I possibly can toward Apollo's cabin, where I already see Will's brother's and sister's waiting outside. When I finally stop in front of them I'm greeted with eerie stares and sad looks all around. I try not to think that this is a bad sign in Lily's case. I mean, Nico would've told me if she died right? He said he was trying to make it up to me, so he wouldn't lie? Would he? I push away my thoughts as I walk slowly into the madness happening in the infirmary. People rush by me from all sides and I can see the one person their working on. Lily lies motionless on a bed connected to multiple devices I'd never seen. Her arm almost looks like part of the machinery with all the ports running through it. I don't even try to find Will. Wherever he is, I know he's doing something to benefit Lily's chance of survival. So I just back away from the scene and sit on a bench on the wall opposite her bed. This way I can see everything they do to her while still keeping out of their ways. It almost bothers me that so much action is occurring around her. Usually a hymn to Apollo himself can be used to heal someone. No I can't think horrible things like that. Lily will make it out of this alive. She's in good hands. I watch Will step into the room carrying a bag of what looks like Nectar and Ambrosia. But, in liquid form. I can't help but watch as he sticks another needle point into her arm and connects the bags to it, squeezing it into her blood stream. I never knew Ambrosia and Nectar could be injected that way. But then again my father isn't the God of Medicine. By the time the entire packets are injected Lily's skin is already becoming less pale and her cheeks even regain their rosy complexion. She's healing. She will be ok. She even looks healthier than when she first arrived, if that's possible. It takes me a minute to realize that Will is talking to me.

"…and the injuries were serious but she will be fine. Although, she may not be able to start training for a few weeks. We noticed she had broken her arm, and we healed it as much as possible but for her to fully heal it will take some more time." He finishes. I can feel the relief spread through me. As long as she survives, I can help her through everything else. It dawns on me that people are no longer rushing around my sister. Almost all the demigods have left, leaving me and Will to talk beside her peacefully resting figure.

"Thank you so much for saving my sisters' life." I said.

"Well you would've killed me if I didn't," He says jokingly, but I still feel a throb in my chest. I still don't know what to do about Annabeth, Nico or Thalia. Their parents all already want me dead, and I've given them good reason now. Will walks away and I decide to focus on Lily first, then my friends. Sitting down on a chair by her bed I take her hand and just breathe. It feels like forever since I've gotten just one moment to appreciate having a new sister.

"Percy?" I heard a voice whisper. It was coming from the door, and I knew exactly who it was. Without turning to look at her, I motioned her in.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry." I begin, unsure where to go next. I feel her sit down on a chair beside me but I still can't look at her. Not after the way I treated her. Not without making things right. Up close I can smell her lemony shampoo. Some of her blonde curls are falling against my shoulder. She replied before I could continue.

"It's fine Percy. You were mad at Nico and you said some things while in a rage." She said, but I still felt like a jerk.

"Even if I was mad I shouldn't have said the things I did. I feel horrible," I continue, and this time I turn to face her. Her grey eyes look stormy. I can't tell her emotions.

"I forgave you Seaweed Brain. It's over. Now tell me what's going on with your sister." She says, brushing her hair back with one hand. I don't know whether she really did mean it. She told me once her fatal flaw was pride. And I challenged that. Plus, she isn't exactly meeting my eyes. Instead I feel like she's looking past me. But I forget it. Why open that wound again?

"Will says she'll be fine. But she broke her arm and she won't be able to use it for a while." I said, watching for Annabeth's reaction. I brought her on a wild quest for my sister, what will she think of the result? I'm relieved when I see a smile. And she actually meets my green eyes with her now clear grey ones.

"That's good. But as soon as she is healed we have to train her. Let the Gods forbid anything like this happening again." She says carefully. I can tell she's measuring my reaction to remembering what Nico did. But in the end, if he hadn't gotten there before us I know Lily would've died. Nico redeemed himself in my eyes. Now I just had to figure out some way to tell him that without making myself seem even more stupid. I just smile in response.

"I'm just really happy we all made it out of the Underworld alive," I said, shivering as I remember Lily's halo of blood around her.

"Only because of Nico's help." She reminds me, lacing her fingers through my waiting hand. I really needed that right now. Annabeth always knew just what I needed.

_**An Outside POV…Inside Hades Palace**_

"They escaped!?" Hades yelled, his kingdom shaking at his wrath. The skeleton guards that had gone down to check on the prisoners found no one. This was no small thing in Hades mind.

"Perseus Jackson will pay! I will send his sister to madness! He will regret ever underestimating the power of the King of the Underworld!" Hades boomed, a ball of pure darkness forming in his hands. He was finally going to get the revenge on the hero he loathed. The destruction of his sister's mind will do more than her death could ever do. The ball continued to grow and with one swift move he tossed it at the ceiling of his palace. And it passed through heading for the young girl they call Lily Reyes.

"Let the nightmares ensue! Drive her to madness! Blind her with fear! Paralyze her with terror!" Hades boomed. His laughter could be heard throughout the realm. Those dead all over the Underworld knew what the sound meant.

An enemy was going to pay dearly.

**A/N: Was Hades idea a bit too cruel? What do you think Lily's nightmares will be? Will Percy and friends be able to fix this? Or will Lily indeed be driven to madness and forced to live a life of misery!? Please R&amp;R!**


	9. The Darkness Inside

**A/N: Ok, quick question. I've been thinking a lot, do you guys think Lily should develop a small crush on Nico? I know that Nico likes Percy, but I kind of feel like maybe Lily might start to feel something for the boy who saved her life. Even if Nico doesn't exactly like her back…What do you think? Or of course since this isn't canon maybe Nico does start to like Lily. It would definitely cause a rift with over-protective brother Percy.**

_**Lily's POV**_

When I woke up again, I was back in my cabin. I don't know how I got here, but this can only mean that Nico or Percy saved me. I can't help but smile. I was home. I was safe. Looking around for a moment I realized I was alone. Whoever brought me here must've left me to rest. I sit myself up, I feel so much stronger than I was before I passed out. I do hope it was Percy that saved me. Because that means he is safe too. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he'd gotten hurt looking after his brand new sister. Even knowing Percy would want me to rest, I picked myself up and stood. One of my arms throb, but I ignore the pain. It's not important now. I needed to get out of here and check on him. I walk to the door and am about to open it when someone pushes it back, throwing me to the ground. It's Percy. I can already feel the scolding coming.

"Lily! Oh my gods you're awake," He says helping me off the ground. Before I can say anything he pulls me into a hug. He smells like the shoreline. I'll admit I feel safer in his arms then in the bed. He's my brother after all, and he saved my life.

"I'm fine," I assure him and he pulls away, just staring into my eyes. He looks like he's in a trance. After a minute I begin to feel uncomfortable with his staring. I'm about to say something when I see someone run into the room. I don't recognize them. Percy just stands there motionless. That's when I hear the shot, and when Percy tumbles into me, and I see the blood. Percy's blood. He was shot. I panic. I hear myself scream and I back away from Percy's body, stopping when I hit the corner of my bed. I'm crying, and every time I look at him, it seems the puddle of blood has doubled.

"Someone help!" I scream, but I can't get up. I'm pinned to the ground, and it seems no one can hear me. No one comes, and I don't know what to do.

"Please! Percy's dying! My brother was shot!" I yell, watching as the pool of blood reaches my bare feet. I realize that Percy's head is turned toward me. His eyes are cold, his lips turning a sickly shade of blue. I still cannot move, all I do is scream and cry. My brother is dead.

"No!" I screech, trying to cover my eyes. I still cannot move. I'm forced to look at Percy, his body decomposing right in front of my eyes. Correction. His corpse decomposing in front of me. I can feel someone's hand on my shoulder. But no one is there. It's only Percy and I alone in the cabin. This can't be real. He can't be dead. I've just come home, I've just found out about my half-brother. I try to blink the nightmare away, but I only see him on the ground before me. Again I feel someone shaking me, I hear someone yell my name but I make no move other than to scream. It's in my mind. No one is there. My brother is dead. And it's all _my fault_.

_**Percy's POV**_

When I walked into our cabin I expected a peaceful, sleeping, safe Lily. But instead I found her sitting against her bed frame screaming and crying. About me. She was awake, but no matter what I did she kept screaming, looking off to some point by the door. But there was no one there, and I had no idea what to do.

"Please! Percy's dying! My brother was shot!" Lily yells, and instantly I'm on edge. She doesn't see me. Whatever she is seeing includes me dying. But I'm ok, and I just can't stand to see her suffer.

"No!" She screams again, and I try to move her but she won't comply. I put my hand on her shoulder and try to make her see me. I try to make her look at me. But she's still focused on something else.

"Lily!" I yell but she still ignores me. That's when I get up to go find Annabeth, and Nico. One of them has to be able to figure out how to help her. Even after I close the door I can hear her blood curdling screams of my name.

When I finally find both Nico and Annabeth I'm out of breath. It seems that they happened to be at the opposite ends of camp when I needed them most. I walk them back towards my cabin while I talk.

"Something is seriously wrong with Lily. I found her in our cabin screaming about my 'death.' I don't know what's wrong. I tried everything to make her see I was ok but she ignored me." I say, and Nico stops walking. He looks like he's seen a ghost (no pun intended, honestly I'm too terrified of how I saw Lily to make any jokes at this point.)

"I think I know what happened. I just never thought my father would stoop this low. But I have to see Lily to be sure," He says, rushing ahead of us so that he gets to the cabin first. At this point I can hear Lily screaming again. It's really a wonder no one has come to see what was wrong. But when Nico opens the door I realize she isn't screaming about me anymore. Lily's standing now, against the back wall, her hands out in defense.

"Please no! Don-" She stops mid-sentence, slumping to the ground, her eyes wide open in a blank stare. It feels like she's staring at me.

"Lily!" I shout, about to run towards her but Nico's hand stops me.

"What is going on Nico?!" Annabeth asks, grabbing onto my hand with such force it begins to turn blue. Her eyes are clouded, her face pale. Whatever we just witnessed bothered her as much as it did me. She was just as disturbed and worried. I laced my fingers through hers, and I felt her soften just a bit at my side. But Nico still hadn't answered us. Instead he had gone up to her and taken her hand in his. I could feel my cheeks redden. I didn't exactly like him so close to my sister. But I refrained from leaving Annabeth to confront him. If he was helping Lily by doing whatever he was doing, than I was ok with it. Finally after a long moment, Nico met my eyes.

"My father has sent Darkness after Lily." He says simply. But what scares me the most is that he says _darkness_ like it's a tangible thing. I mean, it isn't. Right?

**A/N: So what did you guys think? I just knew I had to make Lily's first nightmare experience about Percy. Was it too much? Please R&amp;R!**


	10. I Will See You Again

_**Lily's POV**_

When I wake up there is nothing. In fact, I was completely surrounded by darkness. I couldn't feel my body, or move, and I could see no one around. It was silent. It was only after a few minutes of consciousness that I remembered what had happened before I'd gone under. Percy, my only half-brother, was dead. And I…was I dead too? I remember a shot. And blood. Lots of blood pouring from my torso. I started to scream, remembering the picture of Percy's glazed over eyes, and his blue lips. Is that what I looked like now? Was this death? No I couldn't accept that. So I kept screaming, though no noise came from my lips. There was nothing. I was alone with only my thoughts to console me. No one could save me now. So…I let myself fall apart.

_**Percy's POV**_

It's been about five hours since the first incident with Lily. Still, no one knows what to do. Nico says he could destroy it, but that could mean Lily's death. And I just can't allow that. I almost lost her, and I can't lose her now. Tyson hasn't even met his half-sister yet. I don't want their first meeting to be at her funeral. Her shroud burning, sending flames into the bright blue sky. No, I can't think that way. She will get through this. We just have to figure out how. I can feel Annabeth's hand squeeze mine, letting me know that my thoughts have gotten the better of my attention again. I sit by her side at a council brought on by Chiron. All Camp Counselors are here, and Nico too. I look up from my lap to the watching eyes of the rest of the Counselors. I must've missed an important discussion. Chiron frowns, leaning forward to repeat the question I missed.

"We have heard the full story as presented by Nico Di Angelo. Percy, as this is your sister we speak about, we need your opinion. I know it is risky. But at this point it seems that we should let Nico try to help," Chiron retells the crowd. I am not going to let them experiment on my sister. I can't take the chance.

"No, we cannot do this. She could _DIE_." I say, taking the time to look at every person in the room. Thalia glared at me. Was she seriously thinking about doing it?

"Jackson, we can't just leave her there. Listen to _reason_." She says slowly. I glare back, trying to intimidate her. Instead I just feel like I'm ruining my case with my sudden anger. I'm soothed by Annabeth's hand squeezing mine once again. Until I hear what she has to say.

"Percy, I think Chiron's right. We should let Nico help Lily. It may be the only way," She tells me, her voice reminding me of Athena's. It worries me that she already has so much leverage over this decision. As a daughter of Athena she should know if a plan will fail or work to her benefit. I just don't want it to happen. I let my hand slip from hers as she stands up, addressing the entire table. Her grey eyes are shining, it's obvious she's been taking the time to think this whole thing out for a while. You know, between while she was comforting me, and when I was actually calm. Maybe she actually feels Lily has a good chance of surviving 'The Nico Treatment.'

"I call for a vote. Let's do this democratically. I think this could work. Lily is strong. She's proved it by surviving in the dungeons of Hades. I think she can survive this too. I think we should do it," She finishes. My heart drops, as I watch the other counselors stand and provide their verdict. By the time it gets to be my turn, it's too late. There were already 9 agrees. More than six, meaning I had no choice in the matter. They watched me, some with sad faces, some with enthusiasm for my answer. Even though we all knew it was over. So instead of answering, I got up from my seat and began to walk away. Until Annabeth's hand stopped me.

"Percy…" She whispered, all eyes on our situation. I just pulled my hand away. I didn't want to fight. I just wanted to see Lily. I wanted to say goodbye just in case this was the end. So, I left them there. Awaiting an answer that would never come.

_**Lily's POV**_

I'm alone. I'm alone and I think I may be losing my mind. Percy's gone, I'm…somewhere. And I'm helpless. One thing I most certainly don't want to be after what happened in the Underworld. I mean sure, I've never been brave. I was never the classic girl. I was the outcast, I guess even more so as a demigod. But I can't just give in here. This isn't the same. This is about now, not then. I force myself to pull it together, but it's hard considering all I see is darkness.

"Please…someone help?" I try to shout, no voice coming out. Instead all I hear is a small reverberating echo sounding like something shattering. That would be my mind. My mind shattering in the midst of the silence. I can't help it. I'm slowly going insane. And I can't do anything about it. Suddenly I hear a sound, footsteps I suppose. But I still see nothing. It feels wrong. Something about this feels wrong. Like, like someone is watching me.

"If this is what revenge feels like, I truly enjoy it. Don't you, Lily?" I heard the cold, dark voice coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. I knew it instantly. Hades. He was the one keeping me from sight, from movement, from feeling.

"Oh, no dear. This isn't my work. Though I'd love to take the credit for the masterpiece Darkness has created," He said. How could he know what I thought? I attempt to cower away, but there's nowhere for me to run. Nowhere to hide. Not even my thoughts are safe anymore. My brother is dead, and now Hades is tormenting me with blindness, and inability to move. I could hear his laughter echo even in my mind. It was creepy. Disturbing almost. And…who is Darkness?

"I should go, leave you to your…peace and quiet." Hades shouted, laughing. And then the voice was gone. And I was alone yet again.

The silence returned along with the eerie sensation that someone was watching me. But Hades was gone, so I couldn't understand the feeling at the back of my thoughts.

"I'm so sorry, Lily. But they all voted for Nico to do it. I just came to say goodbye just in case this doesn't work. It's…it's been great to be your brother, even if it's only been like two days," I heard a voice. It was Percy.

He's…_alive_.

I willed myself to find him, to see his loving green eyes again, but still all I saw was the darkness. Nothing more, nothing less.

I could hear sniffling, and suddenly I felt his warm arms embracing me, even though I couldn't see him. Percy was crying, for me. What has Hades done to me? Percy said he came to say goodbye…am I really so close to death? I could feel tears on my shoulder, I could smell the sea breeze shampoo in Percy's hair. If I was going to die at least my last memory would be of Percy. And that he is alive and well, and hugging me tight right now. I think my last words before falling into a sort of peaceful unconsciousness.

_Goodbye Percy._

_**Percy's POV**_

I sit there hugging Lily, and sobbing into her hair for almost an hour. As you may have guessed she just lays against the wall, her eyes wide in a blank stare, not even noticing me the tiniest bit. It doesn't matter that I barely knew her, she is my sister, and I can't stand the fact that she might die. This is worse than seeing her unconscious surrounded by a pool of her blood. She seems so at peace…I could almost pretend I'm not about to give her over to Nico for some kind of necromancer treatment.

It's just wrong. She's too young to die. But I guess that's just another consequence of being a demigod. You almost never live long enough. I don't realize Annabeth's presence until I see her sit down next to me, her eyes fixed on Lily's. She speaks without looking at me.

"I told Chiron to call off the plan with Nico. It wasn't fair of me to make a decision for your sister's life." She says slowly, still not meeting my eyes. I sigh. She shouldn't have to do that for me.

"You were right to decide what you did. Lily needs help, and the only one who can help is Nico. We should do it." I decide, glancing back at Lily for a moment. I barely have time to look back at Annabeth before I feel her arms around me. Kind of like a peace hug.

"She'll be ok Percy," Annabeth whispers into my ear, leaning her head onto my shoulder. I smile even though I can feel the tears coming. Annabeth always knew how to make me feel better.

So, I guess this was it.

**A/N: So, what did you all think? Sorry I made you wait so long for this chapter, I wrote half of it awhile back but then I forgot to finish because of all my school work and the NanoWrimo thing…**


	11. Lightening Up

**A/N: Ok, so I'm finally back! I want to clear things up about when this story takes place, because it will become sort of important in the story as we go forward.**

**This story does actually take place after Blood of Olympus, except Thalia never joined the Hunters of Artemis because there was never any doubt that Percy was the child of the Great Prophecy about the sixteenth birthday. She wasn't afraid to be the child of prophecy and so she never joined the Hunters. And also Zöe never dies, though she isn't that important to this story.**

**The reason we haven't heard anything about Piper, Jason or Leo at camp (Now that it's clear this takes place after they arrive at camp and all that) will be revealed sometime in the next few chapters. But once again, this story revolves around Percy and Lily, not so much other members of The Seven. (Even if they may appear shortly.) Same thing goes with Hazel and Frank.**

**Don't worry if you haven't read BoO, I will try my best not to reveal too much about its ending. Just know that this is actually two years after the end of that book, so Percy and Annabeth are 19, three years older than Lily.**

**Ok, I've made you wait long enough! On to the continuation!**

**_Percy's POV_**

It's crazy to think a seventeen year old boy could do anything like what Nico's doing. Lily lies on a table inside Hades' cabin, Nico standing behind her, his hands out in front of him. His eyes are completely white, his pupils having vanished, as if he's in full concentration. His 'treatment' service has just begun. He's murmuring something in Latin over and over again that I can just barely understand. His voice is too low, and I'm made for Greek. It would be disturbing, if he weren't a son of Hades, or Pluto. (He _is_ chanting in Latin. But that's probably because Hades' Roman counterpart, Pluto, is more reasonable and less angry at Lily and I.) Looking around I realize how dark and depressing everything is. It's like a vampire lived here, the windows were tiny and barely brought in light, the bed was shaped like a coffin, I think I should talk to Annabeth about remodeling the place. Of course, if I did that she might slap me for saying her architecture was not perfectly designed.

"Percy, Nico's speaking to you." Annabeth whispers in my ear, taking me out of my thoughts. I return my gaze to Nico, whose eyes have irises again. He motions with his free hand for me to step forward. Pity shines in his eyes. I can already hear the bad news.

'I can't save her, we were too late.' Nico would say.

"Give me your hand," He says. I freeze for a second before placing my larger hand in his smaller pale one. I could've sworn on the River Styx I saw him blush when I did, probably just my imagination.

"Close your eyes," Nico commands, so I do. For a moment, nothing happens. But then I begin to feel something. It's unexplainable really, like a surge of electricity pulsing through me, but not energizing like a shock. It actually made me feel weak, and vulnerable. I almost opened my eyes. Nico's hand was colder than I expected. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd been back to the Underworld at all since we'd saved Lily. Then I remembered that I hadn't even told Nico I was sorry about the things I had said to him. And yet he was still doing all of this for me.

"Nico are you alright?" I hear Annabeth ask from behind me. I almost open my eyes but Nico's hand squeezes mine. He's in full concentration mode again. I can't mess that up.

"I'm fine," Nico mumbles. I hear some shuffling, and feel a warm hand on my shoulder. Annabeth must've walked closer to us.

"But Nico, you're fading. Reyna warned me this could happen if you shadow traveled too much. You transported us all, and we never gave you time to rest." Annabeth complained. I could feel Nico tense up. Annabeth had brought up a sore subject in mentioning Reyna. She was one of the closest friends he had-I heard from Annabeth that he'd even told her his secrets once-but she left back to Camp Jupiter.

"I told you I'm fine. If we break the circuit now, it could kill both Lily and Percy." Nico warns her, and Annabeth retracts her arm from my shoulder. I definitely do not want to open my eyes anymore. Nico was doing the unthinkable alright. Risking his life, for Lily's, even though I'd hurt him. Talk about ignoring your hamartia. Nico's just happened to be holding grudges…

**_Lily's POV_**

Nico and Percy holding hands? Never would've seen that coming. But now I do. I see just that. I've never met Apollo until now. He's really handsome. Tall, blonde haired, blue eyed. The God of Healing and Prophecy stands before me, his form translucent, like he's only a ghost. But I am seeing through my eyes, a luxury I haven't had since the moment Hades sent whatever it was he did after me. I can't speak, or move. So maybe this is only the work of the God. I'm not really awake, Apollo is only granting me this sight temporarily.

"Nice to finally meet the sister of Percy Jackson. I've seen you doing great things," Apollo speaks, his voice sweet like honey. It makes me want to see his twin sister Artemis.

"Of course, that's only after a series of tragedies…" He mumbles. If I could ask him what that meant, I would.

"So, why am I here, you ask?" He says, even though I said nothing. I don't remember Apollo being so…um self-righteous? He's begun to focus more on his outfit then on me. A bow and arrow hang across his back, gleaming in an artificial light. Almost forgot he took over the job of the Sun Chariot.

Nico and Percy have started an eerie chant over me, in Ancient Greek I think.

"I'm here to help you. Uncle Hades sent Darkness after you, and I'm here to help stop it." Apollo explains, his aura soothing the pain in my joints the longer he speaks. But, why would he help me?

"I mean, I can't let you die when the fate of the world depends on youuu-I mean-Hey that Nico kid is doing quite the job. He's making this job a lot easier." Apollo stutters. But I'm barely listening anymore. It feels like I'm floating on clouds. My pain disappearing slowly but surely. The three ton elephant rising from my chest. That's a pretty literal description.

"Alright, I'm spending too much time here. And I'm sure I'll be seeing you around, so let's wrap this up. Lily Hestia Reyes, I grant you the blessing of Apollo. Health and wellbeing," Apollo declares. For only a moment I'm surprised he knew my middle name, until I remember I'm having a one-sided conversation with a God.

It dawns on me as he finally fades out of view that I was blessed by a God.

And I'm going to survive.

**A/N: So? What did you think? I am pretty proud of this chapter, and I'll be updating again soon!**


	12. Survival, AKA Murder

_**Lily's POV**_

I don't know what I expected to see when I fluttered my eyes open, but I certainly didn't expect to see my brother, Annabeth, an entire slew of people I've never met, and Nico standing around me, some sulking, some completely bawling their eyes out; namely my brother. There was some kind of cloth draping out from Percy's hand, green just like our eyes, with what looks like a trident of emerald in the center. I just glance around for a minute taking it in. It's almost like a funeral…

"Percy?" I whisper, my voice not raw but entirely clear and smooth. The gift of Apollo. All heads turn in my direction, and the cloth falls gracefully to the ground, out of Percy's hand.

"Lily? But…the plan didn't work, your heart stopped beating! Nico felt your soul cross over to the Underworld!" He shouts, rushing over to help me sit up. But I can do it on my own, I've never felt so strong, so healthy. We hug there a moment, and when he lets go I notice Nico step forward.

"I knew something was off. It's like…like what happened to Gwen, and-" Nico began, an unfamiliar voice cutting him off.

"Delivery for Miss Lily Hestia Reyes!" A man calls, walking through the already parting crowd in navy blue pants and a matching shirt that says 'Express made E-Z.' He looks like a fancier version of the classic mailman, and has a helmet and matching winged sneakers.

It's Hermes I realize, the messenger of the Gods. But why would he ever have mail for me?

Hermes smiles at the other kids as he makes his way to where I sit. Percy steps back the second he hands me the small envelope.

"Uncle Hades sent this for you, says he's really sad he missed the opportunity to welcome your soul to the Underworld, a few minutes ago." He says casually, as if we were chatting about the great weather we're having. I notice that Nico has gotten a few shades paler, and has his fists balled up.

"Hades hates me, why would he ever send me mail?" I question, afraid that if I open the seal, I'll be killed instantly, despite Apollo's blessing. Hermes nods in understanding.

"Uncle Hades hates a lot of people. Look, it's not my job to snoop through the mail, or make you open it, just delivery. And…I guess I kind of made the effort to hand deliver this one because I wanted to see how Camp was going, maybe visit a few of my kids." He confesses, pausing a moment to turn back and wink at a brown haired, blue eyed kid smirking at the edge of the crowd. That wasn't much of an answer, so I turn to Annabeth, because I trust her judgment.

"You should open it Lily, it may be important. Hades tends to know things most people don't," She decides, giving me an approving thumbs up.

I nod, about to tear the seal when Nico's hand grabs mine. I can't hide the fact that I'm blushing from the sudden contact.

"Let me open it. If it's dangerous I'll take the fall, not you. My dad would never judge you fairly anyway." He mumbles, glancing up at me with pleading dark eyes. He's basically apologizing for his father. So I hand him the envelope.

"Be careful Nico. I won't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of me." I whisper, fully aware of Percy's eyes on me. I can feel my cheeks redden, but I don't take my eyes off Nico as he begins to tear the seal apart. He has small, surprisingly delicate fingers. When he gets it open and slides the sheet of paper out, nothing happens. Thank the Gods for that. Nico hands it to me to read aloud, and for a moment I fumble with it before actually looking at the page. All I need is to find out that Hades is sending another death sentence for me. I read:

"_Miss Reyes,_

_I am truly sorry you didn't make it to the Underworld, that nephew Apollo of mine, always messing with Health and such. Anyways, I am writing with a warning, solely because this will impact my son._

_There are things far worse than death. _

_Now, it will not be my doing, I assure you. But you and your friends will soon wish you had died when you see what is to come, Daughter of Poseidon._

_It is a dangerous thing to tamper with Fate, so I shouldn't say more. But I and the other Gods have seen a very bad future._

_Even though you failed me, I hope we do not meet again in my realm, Nico."_

When I'm done, it's all I can do not to throw a huge tantrum. Nico is glaring at the ground, Annabeth is in full thought to what all this could mean, Percy has joined me sitting atop the bed-like table. The crowd has broken up into groups whispering, and Hermes has disappeared.

"We need to go tell Chiron. He'll know what to do," Percy mumbles, glancing at me with a nervous stare. I look away.

"You should go, I'm a little tired, and I think maybe I'll just head to our cabin…" I say slowly, wiping the singular tear that falls from my eye. I hear Percy shuffle, and soon he's standing in front of me.

"It'll be fine, tomorrow we'll start training. You'll be ready for anything that comes." He assures me, turning away before I can say anything more, and leaving the cabin, a trail of kids following his lead, probably to go spread the news to other campers.

Soon it's only Annabeth, Nico and I alone in the cabin. But I can't bear to speak to either of them, and somehow I end up at Percy and I's cabin only a few minutes later.

As I lie down on my bed, all I can think about is my almost death. How Percy and Annabeth cried, how people I didn't even know were in tears over me. And that cloth, the shroud, I should say. Just thinking about Percy laying it over my body gives me shivers. My heart stopped, and then…then Apollo happened.

He shouldn't have saved me. If I were dead, like I should've been, everyone I care about would still be safe.

But they're not now, because I survived.


	13. Lily's Destiny

**A/N: Ok, ok, I know this is no time for more plot-twists, but I couldn't help myself. I guess you'll understand what I mean by the end of this chapter…**

_**Percy's POV**_

Waking up at dawn with the sound of the waves splashing against the shoreline outside the window of my cabin as my alarm clock would've been great.

Instead I woke up to someone yelling from outside, and banging loudly on the door. When I sit up I notice Lily has already woken, her normally bright green eyes are bloodshot and dilated. She hasn't slept, maybe because of the banging on the door, maybe because she was thinking about the letter Hades sent. Whatever the reason was, it makes me feel terrible for her. I don't want to get up, but I don't want Lily to have to, so I force myself out of bed and to the door.

I almost get smacked in the face when I finally swing the door open. It's Clarisse. But I have no clue why she's here. Then again, I seem to be clueless about most of what happens nowadays.

"What's wrong with you Jackson?" She yells, taking the opportunity to push me out of the way and walk into the cabin without asking my permission. She glances at Lily for a moment, then turns around to face me again. I shut the door.

"Well?" She asks again, waiting for my reply.

"I-" I begin, but Lily's voice cuts me off.

"I'm going out to the Lake, give you two some…space." She says, rubbing her eyes before getting out of bed, and walking to the back door of our cabin to exit pajamas and all. When the door slams shut, Clarisse steps forward as if she plans to tell me a secret.

"Annabeth told me to get you, something's _very_ wrong with Rachel…" She whispers.

With that we both leave the cabin, headed for the Big House. When we get there a crowd has already formed, but that doesn't stop Clarisse from grabbing my arm and shoving through everyone. When we finally stop, I see Chiron and Annabeth standing over Rachel, who seems to be twitching while she speaks the same phrase over and over again.

"What's going on?" I shout, moving to stand next to Annabeth, who takes my hand almost immediately.

"Listen for yourself," She says, motioning to Rachel.

"Mother's lieutenant reclaims his kingdom…Mother's lieutenant-Mother's-reclaims his kingdom…" Rachel stutters, her wide green eyes roaming the crowd crazily.

"What is she talking about?" I ask Chiron, who just shakes his head as Annabeth answers.

"It sounds like she's trying to recite a new prophecy…But she got stuck, or she just couldn't finish for whatever reason…" She mumbles, squeezing my hand. I notice out of the corner of my eye a few Nymphs glancing my way, probably at the tadpole swim trunks I wear to sleep. I would normally be completely embarrassed that I'm out in public in my pajamas, but Rachel is much more important right now.

"Reclaims his-mother's lieutenant-kingdom-mother's lieutenant reclaims his kingdom…" Rachel repeats again.

"What do we do?" I ask Annabeth, glancing back at Rachel who's begun to stare at me.

"My brothers, sisters and I have tried everything. It's like she's in some kind of-" Annabeth pauses just as silence overtakes the crowd. Rachel has stopped talking.

"Um, Percy? What's going on?" I hear Lily behind me, and turn to watch as she walks through the parted crowd. I left her in the cabin alone. What is wrong with me? She's still wearing her sweats, like she rushed over the moment she realized I left.

"You?" Rachel shouts, and I turn just in time for her to sit up and point a finger directly at Lily, motioning for her to step forward. Annabeth makes the quick introductions while I just stare at the no longer twitching Rachel.

"Lily, this is Rachel Dare, our Oracle. Rachel, this is Lily, Percy's little sister." She explains while Lily takes a short step forward. I watch as Rachel's eyes deepen to an almost black and when her mouth opens again, the familiar voice of the Oracle of Delphi speaks.

"Children of the Sea, Child of Wisdom,

Mother's lieutenant reclaims his kingdom.

A meeting with Rome in the East, seals his fate,

Quests intertwine for a change, nearly too late.

The Daughter of Poseidon, cursed to failure,

Wrath may be her only savior."

She finishes, fainting into the arms of two waiting campers. My first instinct is to turn to Lily, who looks like she might just pass out too.

Chiron speaks to the crowd before I can say anything to her.

"The next prophecy has been spoken. It is clear that a quest must be set up, but for now all of you should return to your activities and training. I must speak with Rachel when she wakes," He declares, everyone leaving in small groups of conversation until it's just Lily, Annabeth, Clarisse, Rachel, Chiron and I. All of us have basically turned our attention to my sister.

"Why am I so special all of a sudden?" She mumbles, avoiding my eyes and looking to Chiron for support.

"I believe it is clear who should be leading this quest." He says simply, clicking a hoof against the ground almost impatiently.

"She's weak Chiron. She won't make it a mile away from Camp." Clarisse scowls, crossing her arms. I can feel the erratic movement of lake water in the distance, meaning Lily must be just as annoyed by the comment as I am. But she's wrong, all Lily needs is a few days of training and I know she'll be ready for this quest.

All I know is that she could've died twice in the last week, and she made it out all on her own.

"She just needs to train. I'll teach her everything she needs to know." I declare, glancing at Lily again. Chiron nods.

"Yes, she will need training, but there is a limited amount of time now that the prophecy has been spoken. I suppose the most we can wait is until the end of the week…" He decides. I'm about to say something when Annabeth speaks.

"Guys, Rachel's waking up." She says, kneeling down again next to Rachel on the ground.

When her eyes open again, they're the normal shade of green they've always been. No more prophecies for now.

"Well, that was…intense." She says casually, taking Annabeth's hand and getting to her feet. She takes a minute to dust off her blue jeans, and runs a hand through her crazy red curls.

"Nice to meet you Lily," Rachel smiles, stepping forward and hugging Lily in an awkward hug.

"Um, yeah. Ditto," I hear Lily mumble. Chiron smiles at them a second, before we all get back to business.

"So about the prophecy, Rachel did you see anything else? Was it only those words?" Chiron asks, Rachel stepping away from Lily to face him.

"I only saw a glimpse of a mountain. I don't know where, or who was there, but it has to be important." She explains. Chiron nods.

"Training must begin immediately." He says, motioning to Lily and I.

"Now? As in, _right now_?" Lily says, walking to stand next to me, before Chiron.

"I truly am sorry Lily, but yes, you should head to the training arena with Percy. I understand you were given a gift from your parents, a sword. Percy will teach you to wield it properly. You must learn to protect yourself against monsters by the end of this week." He explains.

One week. I know Lily can do this. And I've got one week to help her figure out how.


	14. Her 'First Day' Friend

**A/N: As much as I want to skip to the quest, I want to show Lily's progress in the training process that occurs during the week, so here we go. :)**

**PS. I did some investigation, and I bring you confirmation: In this story, Nico would be 17, two years younger than Percy and Annabeth. This means he's a year older than Lily, so Lily is kind of pining after him the way he did Percy. (And Nico may or may not still have some lingering feelings for Percy too…)**

_**Lily's POV**_

I'll give you one piece of advice. _Never_ and I mean never, get on my brother's bad side. Percy's a force to be reckoned with.

I've never gotten knocked down so quickly so many times from so many angles. I've hit the floor of the arena maybe a hundred times now, it's becoming a routine. Percy says I'm getting better at avoiding him, but I know he's only trying to make me feel better.

My skills as a swordsman are just as bad as my skills in hand to hand combat, I'm finding.

"How do you do this? It's impossible," I shout as I dodge Percy's blade just before he hits my shoulder blade. I've already found out, if he hits my shoulder, I'm done for. It's like my Achilles' heel, no pun intended.

"Don't think Lily. Just do. It's why most of us are born with ADHD. It usually helps us fight better because we can keep our attention on multiple opponents or movements at once." He explains as he jabs at my torso. I jump back, nearly falling into the wall. Apparently the ADHD only helps if you have any kind of coordination. Which I don't.

I'm quickly becoming agitated at myself. If I can't figure this out by Sunday, I won't survive my quest. And I'll probably cause the end of the world.

I keep telling myself I've only been training for a day, but I know that's no excuse. In less than an hour I'd heard all the stories about Percy's first day of training.

It's safe to say I pale in comparison.

Of course, I hit the floor the second that thought enters my mind. Returning my attention to the fight, I realize Percy's sword Riptide is at my throat, and I'm out of breath. Normally I would've passed out of exhaustion by now, but Apollo's gift has given me a new sense of energy. My shortness of breath is gone within a few seconds, and I let Percy help me to stand.

"...Well, you were better this time…" Percy lies, looking just above my face. I just turn away from him to pick up my sword from the ground, clicking the 'play' button to transform it back into my golden iPod.

"Hey…Lily, you'll be fine," He says from behind me. I smile slightly, then turn back around.

"I think I should take a quick break. Maybe a walk around the lake will make me feel better." I say, hugging him quickly then leaving before he can grab my arm to stop me.

Soon enough I'm knocking on the door to the Hades' cabin. I want to see Nico. I'm still not sure what I'll say, but I know the words will come when I see him.

He slides the door open slightly after three knocks, then when he sees it's me opens the door wide and motions for me to step inside.

His cabin is no different than it was when I first woke up to it just yesterday. Dark and gloomy, though I personally don't see any of that scary darkness reflected in Nico. He's just hurt because of his father. He's caught in the middle because he wants to please his father, but he refuses to let me get hurt.

Even though I'm still virtually a stranger to him, he's saved my life more than once, risking the wrath of his dad. I'll never be able to thank him properly for that.

Now that it's just me and Nico in his cabin, I start to notice the little details of his room. Pictures are taped to the wall. It's almost a timeline of his childhood, shortened to moments; on the far back wall are a few pictures of young Nico, sometimes smiling by the side of a young girl I don't recognize and sometimes with an older woman I assume to be his mother, at maybe six or seven years old. They're faded, which I find a bit weird, but I ignore it as I return my attention to the other nick-knacks around his room. A dusty chess board on a desk at the corner of the room, an unfinished game of solitaire on the metallic nightstand near his bed, and a pitch black (yet still somehow glowing) sword hanging from the wall. One stray picture lies at the headboard of his bed, placed there by an unusually bright white tack. The picture is recent I can tell, just by glancing back at Nico by the door.

He doesn't say anything as I step closer to his bed, to get a better look. Nico stands between two girls. He wears a tropical button down polo shirt, nothing like the black leather biker jacket he's worn since the day he kidnapped me. He looks happy, even though his arms are visibly covered in scratches and scars and he's much paler than usual. One of the girls actually is familiar to me. I don't know why, but I guess that's not important.

Finally I turn back to Nico, who is playing with something in his hands, his hair covering half of his face. It looks like a figurine, of what I don't know.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be in your business like this." I mumble, not sure if I should leave. Just being with Nico makes me calm. I trust him…and I do care what he thinks of me.

"No it's…fine." He replies, his voice cracking on the word 'fine'. He crosses the room slowly, taking a seat on his bed, the figurine still in his hand. He speaks without looking at me.

"I've heard about the quest. You'll do great," He mumbles.

"I don't exactly agree. Training is going horrible." I reply. He looks at me at last, sadness in his dark ominous eyes.

"This is all my fault…I set this all in motion when I kidnapped you." He continues, placing the figurine down on his nightstand near the Queen of Hearts. It is a figurine, of the god Hades. Nico's father. I can barely make out an inscription that reads 'Mythomagic' at the base.

"None of this is your fault Nico. What your father did has nothing to do with you. I trust you, and I came here because I need a friend." I assure him, giving him a small smile as I sit on the bed next to him. His eyes widen only slightly.

"I'm your friend? After everything I've done to you. After all the suffering I've inflicted?" He questions me, while awkwardly rubbing his skull ring.

"If you want me to be…I mean…I'm not _so_ good at the friend thing. My best friend turned out to be a monster that almost killed me and I kind of feel like Annabeth pities me…I just-" I explain, slightly flustered at the way he looks at me, until he interjects.

"I'll be your friend." He decides, raising his hand as if to give me a hand shake.

I hug him instead, knowing I've taken him by surprise, and possibly that I've crossed the line. But I really need it. And by the way he returns the hug slowly, I know he needed it too.

I still don't know how I'll be able to lead this quest. But I certainly do feel more confident and calmer than I was only a few minutes ago.

Almost an hour later I'm back at it with Percy. I'm still just as bad, but I won't give up. Everyone has out their faith in me, and I will not allow myself to let them down.

**A/N: I wanted to give you guys some Nico time. He's one of my favorite characters in the entire series, and we haven't seen or heard much from him since he helped 'resurrect' Lily. Really he hasn't had a full scene yet, only snippets throughout the entire story. I also wanted to give you a sense of Lily's budding crush. I hope you liked it!**


	15. Cops and Robbers

**A/N: As we go further into the story, and begin the quest, I've decided to make some of the chapters going forward in different POVs than we've previously seen. I think the perfect POV to begin with is Annabeth. Especially seeing the tiny bit of resentment Lily has towards her, because she thinks Annabeth only feels bad for her and isn't really her friend. So here we go, the second day of training week!**

_**Annabeth's POV**_

_This is your chance to get to know Lily better…Don't blow it. She already seems to hate you enough. _

I think to myself as I walk toward Percy and Lily's cabin, where I'll meet Lily to teach her about battle strategy. Chiron's already made it clear that this quest is almost as high stakes as the quest of The Seven two years ago.

I can't help but worry about what that could mean, especially since Percy and I witnessed that prophecy come to pass firsthand, with our friends. But I push the thought aside, knowing that I cannot allow myself to break down in front of Lily. It will probably only make her think I'm insane. Though, I guess that's partly true after _Tartarus. _

When I get to the porch I stop walking; I can hear the voices inside. Not Lily's, or Percy's, or anyone I recognize really. Now I don't know if I should go in.

But I still force myself up the small stoop to the front door.

The door is slightly ajar, as if whoever is in there just arrived and didn't care to shut it completely, maybe they were distracted by something else. Carefully and silently I slide it open enough to slip through, and shut it behind me.

Lily's sitting cross-legged on her bed, eyes red and puffy, staring at what I know is an Iris message portal, made of a misty oval with the faint color of a rainbow. I say nothing as I cross the room to see whatever she sees. That's when I hear the unknown voices again. It's coming from the message.

"The poor lady never saw it coming. Whoever it was that did this left no prints or evidence. Now she's gone without a trace, and it looks like they took her daughter too. Sad case, really. Probably never see either of them again." The man said, his voice deep and gravely. When I get to the bed, I could see it was a cop. The house they were in had to have been Lily's. Which meant they were referring to her mother and her.

"So what do we call this? Burglary? Kidnapping and Assault? We need to get going. This place gives me the creeps, like someone's watching us." A second cop said, his voice much lighter in tone. Both were facing away from the message, of course if they were facing towards us they'd see Lily and I.

The more important thing right now? Lily's mom has gone missing.

But I can't say anything until the cops leave. After a moment of listening to silence as the cops contemplate the charge they'll give this crime, Lily tosses her pillow at the portal, shutting off the connection. Lily's house and the cops are gone in a cloud of fog, leaving just Lily and I. She speaks before I can.

"I just wanted to see how she was doing back home, without me. Percy said I could call through Iris message. So I did…" She trails off, covering her face with her hands.

"Lily, I'm so sorry." I whisper, hugging her awkwardly. It takes her a minute to return the hug, but when she does I begin to feel the tears fall against my shoulder.

I don't know who took Lily's mom, but whoever it is must be more than just a regular mortal. Like when Sally was taken.

"We can find her. I can tell Chiron to send a Satyr, or maybe some other campers…" I reassure her, but she just pulls away from me without reply. After wiping her tears briefly she looks at me again.

"No, it's fine. We need to focus on training. I've already wasted twenty minutes…" She tries to declare authoritatively, although a misguided tear still falls past her eye. But I shouldn't press her. That'll probably only make her feel worse.

"Ok. Um, I wanted us to try and figure out what the prophecy could mean. It's always better to know what's coming before it does. That way we can plan for it…" I say slowly, trying not to sound like my mind is still on the kidnapping. I can't tell if she notices anything, her face betrays no emotion, even though she just found out about her mom.

For a long almost uncomfortable moment, she is silent, and calculating. Then she speaks, in an embarrassed squeak.

"I want you to come with us on the quest." At this, I'm taken aback. The prophecy says she will go with Percy and a child of Wisdom. Of course that means Athena, but I never would've guessed she would ask me. She could ask any of my brothers and sisters, but she chooses me?

Maybe I was wrong about her hating me…

"Are you sure?" I ask, listening intently for the reply. Or course I want to go with Percy and Lily. But I don't want her to regret her choice.

I've heard I can be…scary…and I don't want to go on the quest only because she's intimidated. This time her voice is strong and clear.

"Yeah, Annabeth I want you to come with Percy and I." I nod, giving her a small smile.

"Ok, I won't let you down." I assure her, to which she returns a giggle.

"Are you kidding me? Percy has told me so much about you…there's no way you could let either of us down." She smiles, but that quickly disappears. Once again the silence falls when we remember Lily's mom.

"She'll be ok." Lily mumbles, uncrossing her legs and laying back against the bed. I hope she's right, because I can tell when someone's about to break down.

I know because I did once, and I'm still trying to rebuild myself. Maybe she'll have a better chance at picking up all the pieces.

**A/N: Since it's only been two years since BoO, and alittle more since her days in Tartarus, I still think Annabeth would be fragile from the experience. So this is me giving you a look into Annabeth's mind, and how she sees Lily. Maybe there is an underlying pity like Lily thinks, or maybe Annabeth just sees Lily as herself in the respect that she's reaching **_**that point**_** already. Lily's not as strong willed or confident as Annabeth, that's for sure, but they are still similar in many ways.**

**Alright, tell me what you think!**


	16. Just Tell Him!

**A/N: Day three here we come! Will Percy find out about Lily's mom? What's holding her back from making progress in her training? Today Nico's POV will be seen, I think that's all, so here we go!**

_**Nico's POV**_

When I wake up, I realize that it's my turn to help train Lily. We've gone in a sort of order thus far. Percy with combat. Annabeth with strategy. I still haven't figured out what they expect me to teach her, my qualifications include shadow traveling, buying Happy Meals, purposely inducing a coma on myself, and ordering the dead around. After me is Thalia, whose going to help her gain some confidence. Maybe there's still time for me to switch places with her so I have a day to prepare.

But the moment I wonder about that, I hear a knock on my cabin door. That has to be Lily. In that same minute, as I walk up to the door, I realize how alike Lily is to Hazel. Both tried and continue to try to soften me up. Both have a modest and bubbly personality, and are incredibly stubborn. I smile to myself about that before opening up the door.

I was right.

"Good morning," She says, giving me an awkward smile. I smile back, pretty sure I look just as uncomfortable, and open the door further for her to walk in. Since the end of the Second Giant War, the rule about boys and girls that aren't brother and sister being alone together, has gone out the window. I still suspect that it had more to do with everything that happened to Percy and Annabeth than the actual war itself. But I'm happy for them, I really am. I've moved on, and I'm sure someone more my type will come along soon enough.

We walk past my bed towards a desk I have set up in the far right of my cabin, after moving the chess board into my closet. I even took the liberty of placing a lamp on the table to bring more light into the room.

I'll admit, it doesn't really do its job, and standing from here it only gives off a small cylinder of light to the table. But I do prefer it this way, the dark only calms my emotions.

I let her take the only seat, and she stares up at me with anticipation. I still don't know what I'm going to say. But I try to speak anyway.

"I don't know all that much about you, Lily. How about we start there?" I declare, leaning back against the wall, crossing my arms.

"Ok…well you know about my dad, and I used to be an only-child, and-" She begins, but I cut her off.

"What about your mom?" I blurt out, not sure why I said it. Most of the time I try to forget that my own mother is dead, among the souls somewhere. But I guess my voice speaks to the fact that I barely remember her. Lily's face pales instantly at the mention of her mom, and I regret that I interrupted her.

"…My mom…" She mumbles, looking down at her hands as if they were covered in blood. It reminds me of the way Leo used to talk about his mom to Piper and Jason, before he stopped blaming himself, with such shame.

"I haven't even told Percy yet…" She continues, talking more to herself than to me. I stay quiet, letting her speak.

"My mom went missing yesterday…I was trying to see her through an Iris message, and instead I saw the cops, in my house…I made Annabeth promise she wouldn't tell Percy, because I wanted to do it myself. But I still haven't done it." She says, shaking like a leaf. I'm her friend, I know, but I don't know how I can comfort her. I can tell she already feels guilty that she told me before Percy. But that's more my fault than it is hers. She's begun to stare at the desk. So I decide to tell her my own truth.

"Lily, Zeus killed my mother." I tell her, watching as she turns back to me.

"Oh my gods. Nico I'm so sorry." She whispers, grabbing my arm and pulling me into a hug. Now she's reminded me of Reyna. The one person I knew other than my sisters that would hug me like this. This time I return the hug quickly, and I realize she's tearing up on the shoulder of my leather jacket.

"Lily?" I ask, making sure she's alright. Her response comes slowly.

"…I really am sorry Nico…You didn't have to tell me about your mom, but you did it to make me feel better. My mom is alive…somewhere. I should remember that. I've been selfish, a bad friend." She mumbles into my jacket. She pulls away from me, and wipes her eyes, looking up at me again. I give her a small smile.

"It's alright. You have just as much right to be sad." I assure her, leaning back against the wall again. She seems to shake it off, leaning forward in her seat so that she can place her arms on the desk.

"I'll tell him. I will…" She tells me, pleading with her eyes that I don't run off to tell Percy about her mom. I respect the fact that she wants to tell him on her own terms. I nod, as she takes a deep breath to steady her emotions.

"Ok, so I'll be honest here. I don't know what I'm supposed to teach you for the quest. It's why I asked you those questions. I never meant to probe." I explain, just as I hear a knock at the door.

I feel her watching me while I go get the door. It's Annabeth and Percy.

"Hey Lily, just wanted to see how everything was going?" Percy asks around me, letting me slide the door open further before they enter. Annabeth smiles at me, and then at Lily. Lily just glances at me a moment, then turns to Percy as he arrives at the desk.

"Percy, just the person I wanted to see. I need to talk to you about something." She says, standing up, and pulling Percy by the arm to the door, and soon outside. Annabeth and I watch them go, knowing exactly what's going to happen next.

**A/N: So there it is! We all know Lily's finally going to tell Percy about her mom, after getting the talk she needed from Annabeth **_**and **_**Nico. **

**You heard Nico, next up is Thalia. I guess we'll see how that goes… :)**


	17. Game On, Reyes!

**A/N: Day four is here! It's almost time for the start of the quest, and I was thinking that instead of a full seven days Annabeth, Percy and Lily (Now that it's clear they'll be going on the quest) should leave on Sunday morning, to get a head start.**

_**Thalia's POV**_

This week has certainly gone fast, that's for sure. Now it's my turn, to help Jackson's sister out. I told him to tell her to meet me at the climbing wall. We're going to start this day out with some action.

I got here at around six in the morning, right now it's about seven. I wonder what's keeping her so long.

I watch the sun creep over the horizon for a little while, until I see them coming from the direction of the stables.

"Hey Jackson, Lily." I greet Percy and Lily. Annabeth walks up shortly after them, and rushes to hug me.

"Pinecone face," Percy returns, as Annabeth lets go.

"Hey, no fighting guys," She mocks, walking over to Lily again. I just point up at the wall. We'll have it all to ourselves, I got Chiron to block the other campers from it until noon, after that, I'll take Lily somewhere else.

"You and I," I pause, making sure Lily is following me, "We're going to race each other to the top. I want to see your confidence in action. I want to see how hard you'll try to win." I explain, adjusting my charm bracelet, Aegis. She just nods, glancing up at the wall with a look of apprehension that reminds me of the way Jackson used to look when he approached any kind of monster. But I can tell there's more behind that look. She's strategizing just as much as she is fearing.

Alright then, it's time to get this party started.

"Jackson, you time Lily. Annabeth will time me. We start the second we're both at the starting line I drew up, no wait time. Let's do this, _Reyes_." I smirk, walking to the red chalk line. Lily follows me there, and as soon as we meet, we're off.

I know this wall like the back of my hand, and my agility beats anyone else, any day. This is a piece of cake.

I'm climbing well before she makes it to the base of the wall, and jumps to reach the first rung. Half-way up the wall, the lava pit opens up, and the real challenge begins.

I make it up three more rungs before I hear Lily yell.

"Oh my gods!" I look down just in time to see one of her hands slip from the rung. She flails there a second before reaching up again. The lava pit begins to bubble below, meaning it'll start rising up the wall. We both need to hurry it up.

So I turn away from her and keep moving, yelling down words of encouragement.

"You can do this Lily! It's just like rock-climbing! Forget about the lava! Just do it!" I continue as I climb, until I reach the obstacle course part of the wall. Slabs of cement begin to pop out of crevices in the wall, in an attempt to push us off. They pulse at an alarming speed, but I've done this level of difficulty before, so I know the pattern.

Lily doesn't.

"What difficulty is this? Extreme?!" She shouts from below, and I glance back again to see her grimace up at me. I can't help but laugh as I reach the final rung, and pull myself up on the ledge before the final slab hits my thigh.

Lily's about ten rungs from the ledge, the lava about an inch below her. If she doesn't pick up speed the lava is going to sear the shoes off her feet.

"Come on Reyes! You call _that _trying?" I yell, trying to get her to move on. I can tell the problem is coming solely from her lack of ability to pull herself up to the next rung. Her upper body strength is poor. The only thing keeping her from giving up is probably the advancement of the lava, and the slabs trying to throw her into it.

Another two minutes pass before she reaches the ledge, and I take her hand to pull her up. Below, Percy and Annabeth shout up our times.

"Thalia, you got to the top in a minute, forty-five seconds!" Annabeth yells to me, giving me a thumbs up that I can barely make out at our height.

"Lily, it took you…" He pauses, glancing down at his stop watch again. That means her time was bad.

"I can take it Percy! Just tell me!" Lily shouts down to him, and after a pause he finally looks back up at us.

"…Four minutes, seven seconds…" He yells, or at least that's what I hear him say. I know he's purposely lowered his voice to make the time harder to hear. Lily sighs beside me.

"Well, I tried." She decides, glancing at me. That wasn't nearly as productive as I thought it'd be. She seems to notice the bluff in my eyes.

"No, it was fun…Really. I'm just not great at these things, that's all." Lily explains, folding her legs under her.

"If you say so." I say, playing with Aegis while I decide what we'll do next. The idea that pops into my mind is truly brilliant.

Capture the Flag.

_**Four Hours Later…**_

The teams are set, the forest dryads are ready to referee, and the flags are in place.

Of course, Lily and I are team captains, because in this game, she's going to try her hand at leadership.

The armor fits her well, despite being a size too large. Her helmet is a different story. So much so in the last few minutes of revision she decides against wearing one.

Someone must feel pretty strong about Apollo's Blessing.

_When the game begins, my team's strategy is clear, get Lily's flag. Any means necessary._

_I leave the Stoll twins to guard our flag, by Zeus' Fist. Then Percy, Clarisse, Nico, and I go after their flag._

_We meet our first opponents just at the edge of the old Pine Tree I used to be._

_Annabeth, Lily, and Lou Ellen. Lily heads for Nico, I fight Annabeth and Clarisse, Lou Ellen._

_I motion for Percy to go, just as Annabeth gets me to the ground._

_"How does it feel to lose Annie?" I taunt, Aegis is the only thing keeping Annabeth from my face. I kick her off, and she rolls to the side._

_"We haven't lost yet Thalia!" I hear Lily reply for her, her sword forcing Nico up against the tree._

_He shadow-travels out of there quick, taking Lily with him in a flurry of darkness and screaming. _

_Annabeth's dagger presses into my thigh, but I counter before she can draw any blood. We tumble again into the ground, and I notice Clarisse hitting herself over by the tree where Lily and Nico disappeared._

_"How does it feel to lose Thalia?" Annabeth mocks me, and I glance over to where she's looking, to see Lou Ellen running in the direction of our flag._

_Ooh, she's __good__._

_**Lily's POV**_

_When I hit the ground again, I'm about a foot from our flag, and our guards Chris and Will._

_I'm lucky I haven't already been shot down by an arrow. The only good thing about being here, now, is that I am able to take down Nico before he grabs hold of our flag, with some help from Chris and Will of course._

_Just as I hear the victory bell._

_Well…ok, maybe I didn't actually take down Nico at all. It was only Chris and Will. But whatever, the point is:_

_We won…__WE WON._

_I pick myself up, as Will helps Nico to stand, and glance around as the other campers make their way to us._

_As soon as I found out Lou Ellen was a daughter of Hecate, I knew she'd be my first choice. And she was the camper that brought us victory._

_The second I see Thalia walk up, I can't help myself from yelling._

_"We won! Ha! Our team is __the best__!" I shout, soon my teammates joining in. Thalia smiles, stretching her hand out for a shake. I shake her hand and she smiles._

_"Nice job, Reyes. You picked a good team," She says, winking at Annabeth. Percy gives me a thumbs up, even though I knew he was close to getting our flag. Right after the bell rang, I saw him come out from hiding behind one of the trees near the spot Nico and I traveled to._

_This was fun. If the rest of my training goes on like this, I'll be happy._

_Just three more days until the quest begins. But for the first time this week, I feel like maybe I have a chance._

_**A/N: Ok that one was a little longer than usual, but I wanted some more action this chapter. I see Thalia as that adventurous friend that makes you do all the crazy stuff, so I decided, Capture the Flag! What did you think?**_


	18. Dreaming of Liars

**A/N: Ok, so it's not quite day five yet, but you'll see why in a few seconds. I've begun laying the patchwork for this quest. Something big is coming, readers. This chapter is your hint, and Lily's too. So here we go:**

_**Lily's POV**_

I'm in bed seven hours after our game of Capture the Flag. The sheer feeling of victory doesn't fade during dinner in the pavilion, or even as I lay down in my bed. But, I'm tired.

"Goodnight Percy," I mumble, completely forgetting that Percy isn't even here yet. He had wanted to walk Annabeth to her own cabin first, but only after hanging out at the Lake for a while longer.

After all it was only nine, the Harpies wouldn't be out until ten.

With no response, I yawn, shutting my eyes…

_In Lily's dreams…_

_Suddenly I'm in a throne room of sorts. Twelve people, no _Gods and Goddesses_ sit in the thrones, fighting about something. Or at least some of them were fighting, while the others sat and watched with bored looks on their faces._

"_Hera! Has the Second Giant War taught you nothing? You tempt fate again, with this-this _girl_? You send her false symbols and paint dreams of victory in her mind, you use Hades' petty feud with Poseidon as a pawn in your game, to set this in-" The towering God in the center of the room, I recognize as Zeus, booms._

"_Zeus, my lord, I did what had to be done! Do you show no gratitude for my help?" The goddess of the Heavens shouts back, my vision blurring for a moment before returning to Zeus._

"_Help? You place the fate of the world in incompetent hands! You-" The picture widens, the faces of all the gods present, then zooms into one of the Gods I don't recognize, at first._

"_My brother is right, this girl is not the same as my son. She isn't prepared, she cannot save us. _She isn't our hero_." Poseidon yells at Hera, and all I can think is that this is the first time I've ever seen my father. I'm almost glad to finally get this glimpse, until what he says sinks in. Is he…are they all? Talking about me?_

"_I did right by you ALL, with the Second Giant War. The Seven did as I knew they would. This girl will do the same. I hid her truth to ensure us victory, she is the key-" Hera rebuttals, not missing a beat. I try to move, but I'm bolted in space, unable to move from my spot of perfect sight and hearing. I try to speak but nothing comes. This just had to be one of _those_ dreams._

"_To the end of the world, of Western Civilization? Is that what you wish for, Hera? You do not make the decisions for the Olympians." I recognize Apollo all the way on the left, shift uncomfortably at this statement. A young girl next to him, I guess that's Artemis, simply grimaces at the ground, saying nothing, even though I can tell she wants to._

"_This was not a wise choice My Lady. I trusted your choice in the Seven, but this is different. You have endangered my daughter as well by her involvement in this, and also her…suitor." Athena says, I know it's her solely by her eyes. But my vision blurs again before I can process her words, making me dizzy, almost to the point that I miss Poseidon's sassy comment on that._

"_Oh Athena, it has been years. Do you still find fault with my son? Has he not proven himself to your _worthiness_ yet?"_

"_This is not the time for such talk. What's important now is putting a stop to what Hera has begun. The girl needs to know the truth about who she is. We need to-" The truth about who I am? What does that even mean?_

"_Fate cannot be changed at this point. Hera has already caused too great a rift. I'm afraid we will just have to hope for the best now…Maybe my boy can find the spear yet, maybe…"_

_All at once, my vision goes dark, as if someone shut off a light, and when I can see again, I'm in a valley, looking out to rolling hills. I can see a beautiful, sleeping woman carved into the hillside._

_Again I cannot move, nor speak. But this time I can feel something. A tug almost, a pull towards the sleeping lady._

"_Child you know you cannot win. You must know that deep down." I hear the voice, soothing like a mother speaking to her newborn. I assume it's coming from the woman._

"_I will spare your brother, your friends, if you just leave me to my…um…work. The gods, they lie to you, they don't care for you. If not for me you would've never known a thing about their treachery." She continues, my mind muddled around the peacefulness of the place. _

"_I expect great things, Lily Reyes. That Queen Hera…ah has she increased my odds in ways she would never imagine…" The voice trails off, my vision going dark again._

_In Reality…_

I rub my eyes before fully opening them, to my cabin. Those dreams…they were…strange.

Glancing over at my clock, I notice it's only three in the morning. The dreams passed me by so quickly, but I barely slept at all.

I can see, and hear, Percy sleeping on his bunk opposite mine, but I know I need to speak to him now. So I sit myself up, and start whispering.

"Percy?" I say, my voice so low, I doubt that I said it myself.

"…Peerrcccyyyy!" I continue, only slightly louder this time. He shifts, groaning.

Now we're getting somewhere.

"Purr-Sea," I say again, sounding out the syllables of his name. He groans again, and his hand moves to rub his face. One more time should do the trick.

"Percy?" I whisper, and finally his eyes open, wide and unfocused. He tilts his head up at me, and I notice a stain on his pillow.

Yuck. He drools in his sleep? How did I not notice this until now?

"..Lil-lill-lie?" He mumbles, visibly still mostly asleep.

"I had a dream…" I say, to which his reply is:

"Who is…Martin Luther King Jr…" As if this is Jeopardy. I laugh, then try again, in different words.

"I saw something about our quest." This seems to perk him up. It takes some time, but he picks himself up into a sitting position, and rubs his eyes.

"I'm sorry…Ok, so what did you see?" He asks, already more in tune to our conversation.

So I tell him everything, and when I'm done Percy looks like he's about to throw up. He only says two words to me after, and I suppose those are the most important words to come from the conversation.

"Gaea's back."


	19. Calm

_**Percy's POV**_

There was nothing more to say, nothing more we could do until the sun came up. The Harpies would've been scouting like mad dogs during that point in the night. There's no way we'd get to Athena's cabin without getting caught.

So we sat up and waited. I asked Lily to go over everything with me again and again, to make sure I missed no singular detail. All I knew was that this was really bad.

It sounded like Hera budded her head in where she wasn't needed, _AGAIN. _And the other gods had absolutely no faith that Lily would make it, including Dad, which Lily didn't seem too happy about recalling.

And the fact that the dirt goddess was trying to wake up again? That certainly made it easier for me to stay up with Lily until dawn.

"…None of the gods had faith in me. Not even my own father…The only one who thinks I'll survive is Juno-I mean Hera. I…I actually have no clue where that came from." She stutters, but I guess that's just the fear talking.

"I just can't understand. We were told that Gaea's essence would be spread so thin she'd never be able to reawake. But only two years later she's able to send you this dream?" I say, more to myself than to Lily. She glances up at me.

"Maybe the dream was just a façade for whatever's really happening…Someone else could be behind all of th-" I stop her midsentence. She shouldn't be getting her hopes up for no good reason.

"No, this was her, I've had the same sort of dreams before. Now that I think about it, that must've been what the second line of the prophecy meant. Gaea is called the Earth Mother, and it mentions a mother in the prophecy…" I trail off, just as my alarm goes off, telling us that it's already seven AM.

"Give me a few minutes to get dressed, then we can go find Annabeth," Lily declares, getting out of bed and heading to the place our fountain used to sit, where the makeshift changing room was now. It was basically a few curtains hung from the hippocampi on the ceiling to provide privacy.

I get up out of bed and just stand there for a moment, before deciding I should probably get changed myself…

In the next ten minutes, we're both out of the cabin, bee-lining for Cabin 6. Before we even reach the door, Malcolm opens it, yawning when he sees us.

"Annabeth had a feeling," He explains quickly, giving us a smile before letting us in, nearly dropping a scroll from under his arm.

I hear Lily gasp when we pass the threshold, and enter the cluttered space. I remember that she's never been in here before, hopping over a stack of museum board, and a glue stick.

Annabeth's brothers and sisters wave us by, until we finally reach Annabeth with her head in a book, in the cabin's library area.

"Good morning, Seaweed Brain, Lily." She greets us, glancing up from her book just long enough to smile.

"Malcolm told us you had a feeling we'd be here, Wise Girl." I tell her, watching as she looks up again, her expression darkening ever so slightly.

"Yeah, I had this dream…I haven't told my brothers and sisters yet, maybe we should head back to your cabin." She whispers, marking her page before setting the book down on a table covered in blueprints.

Annabeth leads the way back towards the front door, nodding at Malcolm to silently give him charge of their family while she's gone.

But instead of ending up in my cabin, we end up at the Lake, which just happens to be empty at this early hour.

"I had a dream too, Annabeth. It's why we came looking for you." Lily explains, sitting on the sand. Annabeth and I follow suit.

"What was your dream about? Maybe it'll help me understand mine better." Annabeth asks, glancing out at the water. Instead of responding, Lily looks over at me, passing the mic.

"Gaea's trying to rise again, Lily saw the gods talking about it," I say, getting directly to the point. Annabeth says nothing, as if she expected it. Obviously, this makes me worried.

"Annabeth?" I ask, instinctively reaching for her hand. Her eyes cloud as she looks back at me.

"I was _really_ hoping you didn't say that." She says simply, squeezing my hand gently. Lily grimaces.

"Well, what was your dream about Annabeth?"

"I dreamt that…um we were…" She trails off. I slide closer to her, to try and steady her. I know exactly what she's thinking about. And I hate seeing my Wise Girl so broken, after everything we went through two years ago during the Dirt Queen's wake up party.

"We were fighting some monsters, and there was a landslide, and…we were all sucked into the mud…And I heard this laughter, it was her. Gaea. She was enjoying her victory…"

"She's only sending you those nightmares to scare you. I will not let anyone or anything hurt you, Annabeth. We've made it past much worse than Gaea. We can take her on again," I assure her, glancing back at Lily. If it's possible, she seems almost more shaken than Annabeth about the dream, even if she's never experienced the goddess herself.

"It'll be fine ok? I'm just too awesome for anything bad to happen during our quest." I announce, puffing out my chest for effect. When both Annabeth and Lily burst out in laughter, I know I've done my job. Even though I am a little wounded at their lack of support. As their laughter dies down, I finish my little rant.

"So who's going to beat the Dirt Queen?" I shout, lowering my voice only after I realize it's still only seven in the morning. Lily rolls her eyes, but both of them still play along.

"We are!" They chant.

"And who's going to save Olympus?" I continue.

"We are!" They shout.

"And who's-" I'm interrupted by the sound of groaning.

"Oh please, some people are trying to sleep!" I hear a sluggish yelp, most likely coming from someone in the Hypnos Cabin. But they sleep all day, so it doesn't really kill my flow. Still, I whisper my last encouraging line.

"We are going to win this fight. Because if there's one thing I know, it's that you two are some of the strongest and smartest people I've ever met."

"Oh stop it," Lily teases, pretending to swoon. I smile, glancing over at Annabeth, who also seems a lot happier.

We pretty much spend the rest of the day there, at the Lake, (excluding lunch and dinner of course), just hanging out. I'm glad to have been the one to take their minds off of the quest, if only for a little while.

**A/N: I just wanted some Percabeth, so there you have it, a little Percabeth, some sibling bonding, some advancement of quest preparation. Overall I'd say the right dash of fluff in your normal everyday chapter. R&amp;R!**


	20. Her

**A/N: Day six is here, and Lily feels like she can tell Nico anything. You guys are about to get more of a glimpse at Lily's past, and the real reasons why Lily thought about giving up and Hades' cell and still feels she should've died then, why she felt it was completely her fault that Percy 'died' and her fault that her mother was taken, and why she seems so afraid of failing her friends on this quest…**

_**Lily's POV**_

It's almost the end of the week, in fact, it's already Saturday. Which means I need to step up my training game now if I want to complete this quest without killing my friends and myself, and if I hope to find my mom on the way. All of my friends, Percy, Annabeth, Thalia and Nico are coming to my cabin right now, as I flip through the pages of _Misfits_, earbuds in, listening to music through my magical iPod. Yeah, it's not just a deadly weapon. It's also a lovely music listening device! Turns out when headphones are plugged in, I can press play as much as I want without being impaled with a golden sword to the face.

I'm not sure when I fall asleep, but soon enough I feel someone gently shaking me awake, the sound of my music blocking out their voice. The first move I make is to remove an earbud, which is when I finally hear Nico's voice.

"Hey, you alright?" He's asking me, and I decide to open my eyes. I can't help but jolt back into my bed frame when I see how close he is.

"Sorry," He mutters, as he backs away, and I pull out the other earbud.

"It's fine, I don't know how I managed to fall asleep while I was reading…" I trail off, quickly realizing that he and I are alone.

"You're early," I declare, looking over at my alarm clock. Ok, maybe he's not early but on time, and everyone else is late. He sees me looking.

"Annabeth said she was going to be late, they're (which I knew meant 'her and Percy') going to pick up something from the camp store. I don't know where Thalia is," He explains. I smile awkwardly as we're met with silence.

"So…" I mumble, picking myself up out of bed. He starts up the conversation again, which by his face I can tell is not something he usually does.

"The book you were reading. It looks…cool," He says, motioning to the book on my nightstand.

"It's really not, it's for middle-school kids." I admit, looking away from him when I realize I've started to blush.

"So why do you still read it?" He asks. It's an honest question, but at the same time I know if I start talking about it, I'll break down. I never even told my mom, but yet, I hear myself confessing to Nico.

"I was bullied throughout my years in school, no one trusted me, because it was like whoever got close would be hurt. There was a girl…I knew in elementary school…we were given buddies to go to the bathrooms. So we walked there together, talking, and everything. But when I got inside, I saw something scribbled on the wall, it said something like, 'Lily Reyes: an insane freak that killed her own father', and I just lost it. I only realized what had happened after I woke up in a pool of water, surrounded by paramedics. But they weren't trying to save me, they were trying to revive her. She was bleeding from her forehead, with a bloody pipe lying next to her. And I realized I had done that to her. I killed the one friend I'd had before Becky…I killed her…" I pause, starting to hyperventilate as tears ran down my cheeks, "That book is the only thing that kept me from really going insane after that. I just relate to them, the way they were treated, how they felt like freaks themselves. Even if it wasn't to the same level, even if they weren't murderers-" Nico interrupts me then.

"You are not a murderer. It was an accident. There was no way you could've prevented that, you didn't know how to control it…" He tells me, pulling me into a hug. But after a few minutes in his arms, I still haven't stopped crying. With my eyes closed all I could see was her face, her eyes wide and unfocused, the sticky blood pouring out of a gash across her face, her mouth wide as if she was going to scream. I should've died that day instead of her, in fact the thought of killing myself had crossed my mind once or twice since then, but I didn't ever tell my mom this, nor do I say anything else to Nico.

"It's ok, you're alright…" He whispers, letting me cry onto his shoulder for I don't know how long before someone knocks at the door, and he has to pull away.

As he goes to get the door, I try to wipe my eyes, but am unable to hide my emotion as Percy and Annabeth walk in, a box in Annabeth's hands.

"Oh gods, Lily?" Annabeth sees me first, rushing forward with Percy in tow. Nico keeps his distance from the two, coming over to the other side of the bed.

"Is it your mom, Nico, what happened?" She asks me, turning to Nico for a response when I say nothing.

"She just," He pauses, looking into my eyes, "got really emotional at this scene in her book. It reminded her of her childhood," Nico finishes.

"Are you sure, you're ok Lily?" Percy asks me directly, unconvinced. I manage to smile, even though it feels like I'm still looking into _her _eyes.

"Yeah, it's just…one of my favorite characters died…" I trail off, choking down a sob. Looking back at Nico I try to convey my gratitude. I just _can't_ talk about this anymore. He seems to understand, and I know in that moment that he has become my best friend. Everything he's done for me up to this point, I don't deserve. Every secret I've trusted him with, every fear, every hope, he's never betrayed…

After wiping my eyes again, I look back at Percy and Annabeth, who smile as they place the box on my lap. For a second I only stare at it, trying to get the gruesome imagery out of my head, and then finally I open it focusing all of my thoughts on what's inside.

I see the orange before anything else, and carefully pick the shirt up, examining it. I know what it is, but I still take the time to read the words over in my mind.

_Camp Half-Blood; Long Island Sound_.

"Guys," I feel the tears coming on again, but this time they're happy ones.

"Nico reminded us this morning that you never had a chance to get your Camp shirt. So, we got you one. I assumed that you were a medium, and sized up to a large. There are four others in there, and a new pair of jean shorts." Annabeth explains, as a smile appears on my face.

"Thank you, I love them." I tell them, just as we hear another knock at the door. Percy makes his way to the door as I shut the box, looking back at the rest of us.

"That must be Thalia," He mutters, opening the door.

"Sorry I'm late. The Stolls' decided to hang my bed, with me in it, from the ceiling this morning." She tells us, smacking Percy in the head the second he starts giggling to himself.

"…So you got them back," Nico concludes.

"You're…dam right I did!" She shouted, giggling a bit herself. I didn't get the joke, but apparently Percy, Nico and Annabeth did.

A few minutes later, everyone is settled, and finally I've managed to get my mind off of her…

"Alright, so we know that Gaea is behind this. I've thought about it, and I think I've figured out the second line of the prophecy." Annabeth begins.

"Tell 'um Wise Girl," Percy prompts her.

"Gaea is also known as the Earth Mother-" Annabeth starts, but is cut off by Percy.

"And the dirt Queen," He smiles, motioning for Annabeth to continue.

"So Mother's lieutenant must be someone she counts as her second in command. And I think you all know who they are, after the last war." She pauses again, allowing for us to respond. But I'm still not sure what she means. Of course, I wasn't there for the second war.

"…the Giants…" The rest of them say all at once.

"Exactly, and who was Gaea's leading Giant?" She asks, pausing once more.

"…Porphyrion…" Again they respond together.

"Right. I also figured out where she wants us to go, before she can wake up again. The prophecy says Porphyrion will reclaim Gaea's kingdom. Technically that would mean the entire Earth. But she can only wake up on sacred ground of Western Civilization, just like last time. So we're going to Greece." She finishes, sitting down at the foot of my bed.

"Wow," Is all I can say. She's good.

"Thanks," Annabeth smiles. After a short pause, Thalia speaks.

"So that's it then. The week is over. You guys leave for Greece tomorrow. How are you going to get there?" She asks, to Annabeth more than me.

"I still haven't figured out that part yet. We don't have Festus the Dragon at our disposal at the moment. I suppose we could ride Blackjack and some of his brothers, but they won't last for too long a ride. I don't want to strain them…" She says slowly, thinking it through as she speaks. I don't know who Festus or Blackjack are but I say nothing.

"What about a boat?" I ask, regretting my stupidity as I say it. That would take weeks, possibly even more than a month or two. But no one even so much as laughs. Instead Annabeth actually seems to _think_ about it.

"We could have the Hephaestus Cabin to make one for us, by tomorrow. It'll be fast, and we can trust it'll be made right," She decides, giving me a thumbs up as if that was my idea this entire time.

"Alright so that settles that, anything else we have to go over?" Percy asks, walking over to his bunk to sit.

They all turn to me. But I'm not sure what they're asking, until Thalia speaks up.

"Do you think you're ready?" Thalia questions me, though I can hear the real question. _Did we do our jobs?_

And they did. I do feel good about this. Even if I'm still not the best at swordsmanship or hand to hand combat, I've certainly improved in more ways than one.

After a long pause, I finally reply.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready. I think we can do this."

**A/N: Alright, that was a long one. This is it guys, the quest is beginning next chapter! AH! See you then…**


	21. Long Live the Queen

_**Lily's POV**_

"Ambrosia and Nectar?" Annabeth asks, standing at the opposite side of the cluttered room, gathering her own things as she runs down the checklist of my stuff.

"Check," I respond impatiently, as ready to go as I'll ever be.

"Extra drachmas?" She continues, stuffing a laptop into her messenger bag.

"Check," I say again, adjusting my oversized leather purse. (A birthday gift, if you _must_ know…)

"New clothes?"

"Check,"

"iPod?"

"Check,"

"The extra hunting dagger I gave you?"

"In ma' boot." I sigh, motioning down to the very boots I wear now. My favorite pair, a two and a quarter heel, knee-high boot. They're also the only pair I have other than my sneakers that were recovered from Becky's car when I first got here.

"Alright, well I guess that's as much as we can prepare…" Annabeth trails off, zipping up her bag.

"Do you trust me?" I ask carefully, noticing the glint in her eyes, like it's the last time she'll ever see her cabin.

"Of course I do," She says, though I could swear she hesitated. I only nod, watching as she rolls up some scrolls on the bunk into a bundle, placing them on the nightstand near her bed, as if she'll return to them any minute now.

"…We should get going, Percy will be waiting in the dining pavilion; he refused to leave without eating as much breakfast as he can." She smiles at me, hanging the bag off her shoulder, and beginning to walk towards the door again.

"Alright," I say simply, following her out of the empty Athena cabin, towards the smell of food.

Five minutes later, I'm sitting in front of a stack of pancakes. _Blue _pancakes.

"Come on, we need to go Percy. Start eating, or you'll never finish!" Annabeth declares, frowning down at her boyfriend, the ends of her lips fighting a smile.

I only stare at the stack in front of me, covering the view of my brother.

"First, you savor. _Then _you eat." Percy explains, his arms moving in dramatic gesture. Annabeth's hand disappears behind the pancakes, and I hear a whimper when I assume she playfully slaps him. I have to smile as I imagine it happening.

"If you don't eat it, I will…" I joke, reaching for the fork next to the plate. My hand is swatted away.

"Lily!?" He shouts in mock horror, making us all laugh. But of course, eventually the joke fades, and Percy eats his pancakes.

The Hephaestus cabin is no joke. A huge brick building, with a smoke stack sticking out of the roof, white smoke billowing out. In the back of my mind all I can think is, _why brick? _Because that's the question I ask…

We don't go inside, only wait until Nyssa comes out to meet us. I've been told that she's only temporary counselor because the real counselor is on a quest himself. Annabeth gave her title over to Malcolm, and since Percy and I are both leaving, Poseidon's cabin has no counselor.

"We built your boat…But-" She begins.

"What is it, Nyssa?" Percy interrupts.

"You uh, have to go down South to use it." She continues slowly, a sheepish grin growing on her face.

"But why?" Annabeth asks, shifting her bag.

"It's not exactly what you'd call, _inconspicuous._" She frowns, clearly uncomfortable with delivering the news.

"What happened?" I speak this time, glancing down at my watch. 8:34 AM. We're already running late, now we have to make the trip south _before_ boating to Greece?!

"Well...we were working all night, and normally it's not an issue for us, but one of the guys was dozing off when he wrote up the blueprints with the dimensions…It came out a bit bigger than you'd asked for, and then we'd expected. So you'll have to find an empty port, or empty beach to set sail off of." Nyssa finishes, shrugging. I talk before Percy or Annabeth can.

"Its fine, we're still early, we can make the trip south before heading to Greece. No problem," I lie, smiling. It may not be ideal, but in all fairness we were asking a lot. They made a boat in a singular night for us, and they don't even really know me.

"Lily's right. No need to get wound up over this. Thanks Nyssa, tell the guys we're grateful," Annabeth agrees, taking a suitcase I hadn't realized was there, from Nyssa's hands.

"What's that?"

"The boat,"

"…Oh-kay." I respond slowly, trying to act less surprised. You'd think a suitcase that turns into a boat would be perfectly normal to a person who's been through crazier situations in two weeks, but still I _have_ to wonder how they managed to do that.

I don't have time to dwell on it, because within the same minute we're saying our goodbyes.

The walk towards the gates is a dreary one. I have to force myself to keep walking, avoiding the stares of campers as we pass through their activities. I notice Will, teaching archery to the younger kids, watching me make my way across the lawn. He wasn't only my teammate for Capture the Flag, he was the one to nurse me back to health after my few nights at Hades' palace. I also like to think we're at least peers, if not friends. I smile, but he only turns away in response, much like most of the other campers. They all heard the prophecy, so I assume they're not hopeful.

"Alright, this is it." Percy interrupts my thoughts, as we reach the magical border. I look back once, before taking the lead, crossing into the part of the woods that isn't protected from monsters.

"We're ready." I say, taking a tentative step forward. Annabeth smiles.

"We're headed to Charleston, South Carolina, they have a private yacht club that we can leave from," She explains, pointing down the hill in the direction we need to go.

"How are we going to get there, and how are we getting in?" I ask. Again she smiles, obviously having previously thought out the details.

"The club is owned by Dare Enterprises,"

"Like, Rachel's family?"

"Exactly. And on the note of getting there, I figured we'd need a ride anyways, regardless of if it was just to a pier here, or to anywhere else. So I asked Percy for help," She pauses, glancing over at Percy.

"We just have to get back to New York City. My mom is going to be our ride to South Carolina." He finishes for her, taking her hand as we continue our walk towards the road.

"You, Lily Reyes, are going to have the magnificent opportunity to meet _the _Sally Jackson. The Queen of blue foods, love, and happiness." Percy declares, raising his fist to the air, Annabeth joins him, and after a moment, I do too.

"Long live the Queen!" We shout together, smiles on our faces as we embark on the first stage of our quest.


	22. Central Park and Chill

_**Percy's POV**_

We arrive at my mom's place about two hours later, after hitching a ride on a mostly safe coach bus. I think it's safe to say, I'm excited, having not really seen my mom in a few months.

I can smell the blue chocolate chip cookies before we reach the front door.

"Mom!" I yell, as a push my key into the lock and open up the door.

"I'm in the kitchen, sweetie!" She shouts back as we enter. Annabeth and I lead Lily into my kitchen, where my mom waits at the stove, having just pulled our treats out. Annabeth and I rush forward, hugging her.

"Hey mom," I smile. She smiles back, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

"I've missed you Percy, and you too Annabeth…Thanks for not letting him die," She whispers that last part. Annabeth chuckles.

"Of course Ms. Jackson,"

It's when we pull away that Lily steps forward awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Jackson," She murmurs, extending her hand. Annabeth and I watch their interaction from the kitchen table, curiously.

"Oh, Lily, there's no need to be all formal. You're my family now," My mom grins, pulling her into a hug. It takes a minute before Lily returns the gesture.

"Ok, so what is it this time…Tell me _everything_!" Mom asks when Lily pulls away, as she divides the plate of cookies onto plates for all four of us.

"Lily's leading her first quest…uh-how about you tell her, Lily?" I pass the mic, stuffing my first cookie into my mouth. The chocolate begins to melt on my tongue as she clears her throat, and speaks.

"Well, I, uh…We have to, there's a…we have to defeat Gaea." Lily finally manages. I watch as my mom's smile disappears.

"Oh…" She whispers, lifting a hand to her cheek in shock.

"Mom, it's alright. We won't let that happen again," I assure her, a hand on hers. She squeezes my hand, tight, shutting her eyes.

"Ms. Jackson? Did I-" Lily looks to us for support. I frown, she deserves to know about Tartarus…

"It's not you Lily," Annabeth begins before I can, "It's just something that happened the first time we fought Gaea."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Lily stops her, glancing back at my mom.

"It's ok, it's been two years now. You deserve to know," Annabeth continues, looking at me for approval. I nod. My mom opens her eyes, sighing.

"Two years ago, Percy and I fell into Tartarus, where all monsters go when they are killed, to reform over hundreds or maybe thousands of years. It's the deepest and darkest spot of the Underworld. And nearly impossible to escape from, we only made it out because of…" Annabeth trails off, blinking. I can tell she's thinking of Bob.

"…We made it. That's what's important. And we won't ever be going back, I promise," She finishes quickly, although it sounds like she is trying to convince herself more than my mom.

"I know, I just worry sometimes…Not too many demigods live through what you both have, and I want Lily to succeed," My mom concludes, dropping my hand.

"We'll succeed mom," I smile, and we let the subject drop. No more quest talking for now.

"So, are you going to be a year-rounder Lily?"

"I don't know. I guess that depends on if we find my mom…" Lily trails off. My mom's jaw drops, as she looks between Annabeth and me.

"Lily's mother was kidnapped a few days ago...I suppose one of Gaea's giants may be behind it," Annabeth explains, lowering her eyes.

"I'm so sorry…"

"Its…ok. I'm sure we'll find her. My mom's always been pretty resilient."

And just like that we're back on the subject of the quest.

"South Carolina, then? It should take us around a day," Mom says slowly. Silence follows, before I finally speak up.

"Guys, come on…We're going to be fine out there. But right now, we're eating famous blue chocolate chip cookies, in my house! We shouldn't have to be this tense about everything,"

"Percy's right, you guys should be relaxing before we leave, have some fun. We can talk more about this quest when we're in the car, five hours from here." Mom agrees, collecting our empty plates.

"What should we do, then?" Annabeth and Lily ask simultaneously. I smile.

"Central Park is beautiful this time of year,"

"I've never been-" I cut Lily off, my grin widening.

"Now we have to!"

_**Lily's POV**_

Fifteen minutes later, and we're here. Central Park. I stand by the entrance on East 72 Street, waiting while Annabeth and Percy buy a few bags of roasted peanuts and water bottles at the stand.

"Psst! Lily," I hear someone whisper behind me, and I nearly fall forward. My hand grasps at my iPod instinctively, as I face them.

"Lucas…" My grip loosens, and I pull him into a hug. Lucas was a friend of mine in Pre-School, well before anyone realized the things I could do. I'd know those hazel eyes anywhere.

"What're you doing here?" I nearly shout. He chuckles, her hands on my shoulders.

"I could ask you the same thing, L." That's when it clicked, Lucas had moved to New York after kindergarten.

"You look great," I blurt out, reaching up to smooth his hair over, just a bit. The blonde swoosh thing always bothered me.

"Twelve years can do a number on a guy, huh?" He jokes, as I reminisce. We were so small back then. Things were so much simpler.

"So, really, why are you here L?" There's a pause while I figure out the best lie.

"I moved," I decide that saying the least will prevent further explanation.

"Lily, I got you cashews, like you ask-" Percy and Annabeth walk up, pausing when they see Lucas.

"Thanks, um, this is Lucas…One of my old friends from California." I introduce them awkwardly.

"Lucas, this is my half-brother Percy, and best friend Annabeth."

"Nice to meet you," Annabeth smiles. Percy stays quiet.

"You too, I didn't know you had a half-brother L?" Lucas asks me.

"Well, twelve years can do a number on a girl," I tease, praying he'll stop asking questions.

"Yeah…" He trails off, clearly uncomfortable.

"Hey, would you like to join us? We're picnicking on the Great Lawn," Annabeth asks suddenly. For only a moment, Percy's eyes spark with betrayal, then it's gone.

"Yeah, sure." Percy nearly chokes out, though I don't understand why he's so annoyed all of a sudden.

Lucas merely nods, taking initiative as he nearly pushes me forward, Annabeth and Percy right behind us.

"So how's New York treating you?" He asks me, walking at a pace that forces me to almost jog to catch up. Percy and Annabeth seem to be trailing further and further behind.

"It's…interesting," I lie again, looking straight ahead to avoid his stare. As we walk, the wind picks up.

"I love winter the best," He tries again. I don't know why I feel so wrong speaking to him, but I do. After a moment, I stop walking. And I realize we've lost Percy and Annabeth.

"Hey, where's-" I'm cut off, as I'm pushed up against a tree, choking.

"It's always so much windier in the winter!" I hear the hiss. Lucas' voice, but no body to place it to.

The monster name registers in my mind.

_Venti_.

But I can't scream, blots of darkness already beginning to blur my vision.

My hands go numb before I can reach my iPod, or anything else. Even though there's nothing visible to fight, but the wind.

_Why must all of my friends be monsters…_

"Lily!" I hear them yell, before I pass out.


	23. Identity Thieves

_**Lily's POV**_

The first thought that comes to my mind is that I am not dead. I open my eyes.

I'm alone, in a fairly dark room, on a bed, under a pile of sheets.

"Hello?" I try to say. A barely understandable squeak comes out. Lucas probably damaged my vocal cords. Hopefully not to the point of no return.

I lay there for ten minutes, staring up at the ceiling, until finally someone comes into the room. Ms. Jackson.

"Oh, you're awake. Thank the gods. Percy and Annabeth told me that you were attacked by Anemoi Thuellai." She smiles, walking in further, to place a glass of golden liquid at the bedside table. I assume that Anemoi-whatever means the same thing as Venti. Then finally I realize I'm in Percy's room.

I try to sit up to drink, but I'm too weak. Ms. Jackson notices right away, gently picking up the glass to bring it up to my mouth for me. I nod my thanks as I drink.

Already my throat feels less raw. But I still don't speak, afraid I'll just mess it up again.

"Just rest your voice, sweetheart. I'll go get Percy and Annabeth, they've been so nervous." She whispers, leaving the glass at the table before leaving the room again, leaving the door slightly ajar. I listen for footsteps, until Percy and Annabeth come into the room.

"Hey," Percy greets. I smile.

"Look, I'm sorry I was so rude earlier to your friend...I guess I just got a little-" He pauses, obviously looking for the word.

"Over protective," Annabeth finishes for him, a small smile appearing on her lips for only a second.

"But at least this once, Percy was right. I should've known Lucas was a monster, and I'm sorry for that, Lily." Annabeth continues. I only nod.

"Mom says it should be a few more hours before your voice fully heals," Percy starts up again. My mind goes straight to Greece.

"Don't worry," Annabeth assures me, "I contacted Chiron back at camp. He hasn't gotten any new messages from Olympus. There's still plenty of time to get there before she rises,"

I nod again, sighing.

"None of this is your fault. I think it's safe to assume Gaea's been planning this well before even we defeated her. Monsters have been following you since kindergarten, if not earlier. There's no way you could've known," Annabeth concludes, walking around the bed to sit at the window, where the curtains are pulled shut.

"Yeah, you don't have to beat yourself up over this. Happens to the best of us," Percy tells me, sitting on the corner of his bed. I glance back up at the ceiling, and in no time, I'm dreaming…

_In Lily's dreams…_

_The television set in front of me flickers, before turning on to the news._

"_Hundreds of guests visiting the island were killed this afternoon in the freak…" The voice trails off, as the scene changes, and I'm standing in a valley, the rolling hills stretched out in front of me._

_Gaea is trying to speak to me again._

"_Child," She greets, her voice as smooth as honey. It almost sickens me, but of course, I can't move._

"_Such hostility towards your grandmother!" She mocks me, a smile forming in the hill._

"_I offered you a place in the new world child. A world without the liars that are the gods and goddesses of Olympus. They have stolen your identity girl, don't you know!"_

"_But still, you continue on this ridiculous quest to your deaths. If you wish, then you shall receive. I shall try to reason with you one last time, Lily Hestia Reyes. But betrayal will not be taken lightly…" She finishes, the dream shifting one last time, until I'm sitting on the edge of my bed, at home. I watch my six year old self coloring on the ground, the door to my room shut. For whatever reason, I don't even remember myself coloring here, when I was six. I don't remember ever coloring, or even having a coloring book._

"_Come to me child…" I hear the whisper, and six year old me looks up, curious._

"_I am waiting," I hear it again, the nearly silent voice. My six year old self stands, dropping the grey crayon. It hits the floor, drawing a jagged stripe across whatever I was coloring._

_A wolf._

_In Reality…_

I jolt awake, my body somehow more sore than ever. Facing the clock, I realize its four AM. I'd been sleeping since the afternoon.

"Percy, Annabeth?" I whisper into the darkness, my voice stronger. There's a long pause.

"Lily?" It's Annabeth. She must've been sleeping on the floor.

"Where's Percy?"

"On the couch in the living room,"

"Oh, um…I had another dream." I confide in her, tilting my neck far enough to see her lying in a sleeping bag, staring up at the ceiling.

"What was it about?"

"Gaea, again…" I frown, watching for her reaction.

"It'll be alright Lily," Annabeth assures me, smiling to herself as if she can see our future, "We need to rest, later today we're leaving for South Carolina…"

"Ok…you're right, I shouldn't dwell on it," I agree, yawning.

But I don't fall asleep, merely close my eyes and lay in silence until morning.

_Why would Gaea send me a memory of coloring? _I ask myself over and over again, until finally my thoughts drift off to my mom.

Seven hours later, and I'm still awake, waiting for Annabeth or Percy to officially 'wake me'. One of them must be awake, the glare of Percy's ceiling fan bulbs plus the light from the open windows is already penetrating my eyelids, giving me a slight headache. But I don't haven't heard any noise; maybe I did fall asleep, if only for a few hours or minutes…

I hear the door creak open slowly.

"Lily?" Percy whispers. I listen for him walk in, and after some hesitation, open my eyes, pretending to stretch.

"Feeling better?" He asks me, kneeling down beside the bed to grab his sneakers. I smile.

"Yeah,"

"Good, well, I'll let you get ready. Annabeth brought your bag in here with your clothes." He explains, quickly tying up the laces before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

I lay in bed another minute before getting up, and getting dressed.

"This is it," I tell myself, in front of the mirror on his dresser.

Next stop: South Carolina.


	24. First Fight Frenzy

_**Annabeth's POV**_

"A wolf? What could that possibly have to do with the quest?" I wonder aloud, recounting her dream in my mind. It just doesn't make sense.

"She's trying to distract Lily, she'll do anything to jeopardize our chances, including make you think something else is happening here." Percy decides, leaning his head on my shoulder. I shake him off, reaching for my emergency cell in my pocket.

"I should call Chiron. Maybe he'll know what this is about. I don't think this is a brain game, Seaweed Brain…There has to be more to it." I declare, about to place the cell phone to my ear when it goes off.

"Chiron," I pick up immediately.

"Annabeth, I've just received word from the Olympians, Gaea's rising is being delayed. Some of the giants have revolted. They plan to be sole leaders of the new world," Chiron explains slowly. I can almost sense the shock spread across my features.

"So, how much longer do we have?" I ask.

"Anywhere from a few days to a few months. It's still unclear whether Gaea will regain control of her legion. The gods had previously predicted she would rise on August 1st, same as two years ago. For right now, I suggest you stick to the original plans, as the Earth Mother is quite unpredictable."

"Alright Chiron, thanks…Bye," I say, hanging up.

"Well, what is it?" Lily asks, obviously nervous, her voice rising.

"It's been a little more than two weeks since Lily first got to camp right? Which was-"

"July 2nd, my sixteenth birthday." Lily finishes for me. I sigh, already having worked out our short timeline.

"And today is the 21st, right?" I evade. Both Percy and Lily nod.

"Well, the least amount of time we'll have to get to Greece is 11 days," I blurt out.

"But, we don't even know which island to head for!" Lily shouts, exasperated. I avert my eyes.

"Maybe we should just head for Athens, where it happened the first time, right Wise Girl?" Percy asks me, intertwining his fingers with mine. I smile, looking up at him.

"That's brilliant, Percy, and-"

"A hundred and forty miles to Dare Yacht Club!" Ms. Jackson shouts over us, smiling through the rear-view mirror. She's right, we need to calm down. Being anxious and wound up all the time will do us no good.

Breathing in and out slowly, I face the window, rolling it down until I can feel the night breeze. I'm about to shut my eyes, and fall asleep, when the car suddenly flips forward…

_**Lily's POV**_

My first instinct is to pray to my father.

The car hits the ground screeching, on its side. From my window I can see and feel the fire, this thing's going to blow up.

"Run!" I hear Percy shout, as we all struggle out of the opposite door, dizzy and confused.

All of us jump for the shoulder of the road, just as we hear the _BOOM, _its force sending us flying in all directions_._ Then there's a ringing sound in my ear, and the smell of burning flesh. My neck stings, but the rest of my body is relatively numb.

"Lily!" I vaguely hear Ms. Jackson call, out of my right ear. I must've fallen further into the woods then they all did, I realize sluggishly.

I blink twice, before attempting to stand, and stagger out onto the shoulder where I think I see my friends waiting. Percy sees me first, limping up to me.

But before he reaches me, he pauses, his jaw dropping.

"Oh, Lily," He freezes, his eyes widening.

That's when I feel the breeze against my stinging neck, and my arms go flailing, searching for the ponytail that used to reside behind my head.

My hair is gone.

"Oh my gods, oh my gods!" I panic, accidentally coming into contact with my fresh burn at the back of my neck, where my hair used to be. I stagger forward, but Percy catches me before I fall.

"Oh, Lily," Seems to be all he can say, as he guides me to Ms. Jackson and Annabeth.

"You've been burned," Ms. Jackson whispers, reaching into her purse to pull out a square of Ambrosia. I glance over at Annabeth, a gash on her forehead.

"I see I'm not the only one who's been hurt," I conclude.

"Just a little cut, nothing I can't take after nineteen years being a demigod," She smiles lightly, wincing even so.

Percy gestures to his leg.

"Just a sprain, I'll be fine in a week." He decides.

But now it's time to survey the damage. We're stranded at night, on an empty freeway, one hundred and forty miles from the port we need to sail to Greece. Someone set us up, and is probably following us.

"It wasn't Greek fire," Annabeth speaks up, looking back at the wreckage that used to be Ms. Jackson's car.

"No it wasn't, blondie." The hiss came from out of nowhere, as a group of girls hidden in the shadows revealed themselves to us.

"Mom, get out of here, now!" Percy shouts, poising himself for attack. Annabeth and I follow suit, watching as the monsters come closer, cackling.

"Good luck," Ms. Jackson says finally, and I hear her footsteps disappear into the distance soon after.

"I've always hated cheerleaders," Annabeth murmurs, and then, we attack.

Almost all of the entire group come at me, four or five distracting Annabeth and Percy.

But somehow, I'm ready. My blade connects with the first empousa's neck, slicing right through, and simultaneously stabbing into another, both exploding into dust. My senses take over as I throw myself over another one, stabbing backwards through its back. I fall gracefully to the floor when it explodes, drop-kicking another before stabbing into her chest.

Five down in two minutes flat. My sudden agility is incredible. But it's like when one falls, another two take her place. I'm almost caught by one when Percy and Annabeth join me.

Another five minutes, and the fight is over, all of us breathing heavily, all of us in great need of some Ambrosia and Nectar. But still, both of them make a point to catch me in a hug just after the last one bites the dust, literally.

"I knew you could do it," Percy nearly yells. I have to admit, I'm just as proud of myself.

"I know right!" I yelp gleefully, unable to contain my grin.

"That was incredible, Lily." Annabeth screams.

We pull away from each other after another moment of loose happiness.

"Phew, so…How are we going to get to South Carolina?" I break the silence.

"Well, where are we now?" Annabeth asks, already searching on her phone, "…We're pretty close to Richmond."

"Like, Virginia?" Percy asks, glancing up at the stars.

"Yes, Seaweed brain. Richmond, Virginia."

"So then what next?" I ask again, running a hand through my now-almost pixie cut length jagged and burnt hair.

"Next? We start walking."


	25. Too Old

_**Percy's POV**_

We walk for like five miles before I realize something, stopping dead in my tracks.

"Blackjack!" I face-palm. Instantly, Annabeth and Lily ahead of me stop, Annabeth walking back to meet me.

"Blackjack," She realizes quickly, I bet as annoyed with it as I am.

"Blackjack?" Lily asks, walking back as well.

_Blackjack? You there? _I think, waiting for the response.

_Yeah boss?_

_Can you meet me with two of your buddies in Richmond Virginia?_

_On our way,_

I smile to myself.

"He's coming," I tell them, although Lily is still visibly confused.

"Who?"

"My Pegasus, Blackjack. Remember the day we had that Capture the Flag game with Thalia? I was going to introduce you that morning at the stables but we were already running late." I explain to her, watching as the recognition sparks in her eyes.

"And you can telepathically communicate with Blackjack,"

"Yup," I smile, only now realizing that Lily may not be able to communicate with Dad's creations like I can.

"So we should set up camp here, until Blackjack and the others come. We're only a few miles outside of Richmond now. And we certainly can't get anyone to rent a room to three teens who look like they've been on the run," Annabeth says, leading us just into the shade of the trees.

We stop near a thin brook, with a few fallen trees we can use as benches. It almost looks like it used to be a…

"This used to be an old campsite. Part of Pocahontas State Park," Annabeth explains, pointing south.

"It's beautiful," Lily smiles, staring up through a hole in the canopy of tree leaves above us. The North Star is shining through.

"We should take turns keeping watch. I'll go first," I suggest, taking a seat on one of the trunks, closest to the water. For once, there is no objection, both girls only nodding before lying up against the trees. Within minutes they're both asleep, and I pull a drachma out of my pocket.

"Oh, Iris, please accept my offering." I whisper, tossing the gold into the brook, waiting for a second before it shimmers, a rainbow of mist opening up.

"Show me, Sally Jackson." My reflection in the water fades, revealing a hotel room, the television set on, but muted, though I can see the wreck of my mom's car being featured on it.

"Mom?" I whisper, waiting until my mom walks into the picture.

"Percy, I'm so glad you three are ok!" She exclaims, lowering her voice when I think she sees Lily and Annabeth sleeping.

"Where are you?" I ask her, shifting in my seat. She smiles.

"A _Super 8_ in Richmond. Luckily no one asked questions regarding, the um, scratches." She chuckles, motioning to her own bruises from the crash. I nod.

"We're close to Richmond too, waiting for Blackjack. He's going to be our next ride to South Carolina," I tell her, glancing around momentarily to make sure I hadn't woken the girls.

"Great, well I should be going, I ordered dinner out, and the delivery man should be getting here any minute," Mom says, just as a bell goes off behind her.

"Goodnight Percy!" She says quickly, waving her hand through the message portal before I have a chance to respond.

"Goodnight mom," I whisper, leaning back again. But I don't know what else there is for me to do.

And exactly five minutes later I find myself waking Annabeth up.

"What?" She slurs groggily. I laugh.

"Please, I need someone to talk to!" I plead with her, which only earns me a weak slap against my chest.

"Let me sleep Percy!" She tries to shout, only making me laugh more, because hey, she's cute when she's cranky.

"What if I told you we were being attacked by wild mountain lions?"

"Impossible," She opens her eyes at last, but only to glare at me.

"Ok, so no mountain lions, but I seriously do need someone to talk to," I try again, putting up my best pouty guppy face.

"Fine," She surrenders, picking herself up into a sitting position.

"So, I called my mom, she's at a hotel in Richmond." I tell her. She smiles, pushing the hair out of her eyes.

"That's great, Percy."

"I also wanted to apologize that because of everything that's been going on, I haven't been able to wish you a proper happy twentieth birthday, Wise Girl." I frown, imagining what life would be like if we had left together to New Rome right after Senior Year, like we'd originally planned.

"Do I sense a bit of regret that we stayed at camp to help Chiron with the new arrivals?" She asks me, a small smile on her lips.

"No, I don't regret it, and I don't regret finding out I have a sister. I guess I just never expected we'd live to nineteen, and now you're twenty-"

"I know Percy, I feel the same way. And thanks. For the late-ish birthday wish." She smiles, leaning closer to kiss my cheek.

"July 12th feels like it was a while ago, doesn't it?" I joke, leaning my head onto her shoulder.

"Yeah, but I have to admit I missed the action of being a demigod. We haven't been out much at all since the Second Giant War ended." She replies, sighing.

"Definitely, the rush is incredible. It makes me feel old." I smile.

"Haha, Seaweed Brain. I'm the one who just had a birthday, remember?" We sit in silence that way for what feels like a few hours.

"…I know you're worried because of the last two lines of her prophecy," Annabeth mumbles, placing an arm around me.

"_The daughter of Poseidon cursed to failure, wrath may be her only savior_." I recite, more to myself than to her.

"It'll be alright, we've seen her in a real battle now. She's getting so much better at protecting herself," Annabeth tries to assure me. I only nod, staring at the dirt.

"Hey, everything will work out the way it should. The Fates have a reason and way about everything."

"Yeah, they do."


	26. Venus

_**Lily's POV**_

I had the last watch of the night, so I am the one who gets to wake everyone else up. Blackjack and the other Pegasus aren't here yet, but I figured we should be awake and ready to go when they are.

"Guys!" I shout, kneeling down to gently shake Annabeth awake.

"I'm up!" She shouts in my face, jolting up just after I move back, slightly dazed, a hand over my forehead for stability.

"Oops, sorry," Annabeth frowns, her eyes shining with worry.

"No, its fine, I'm good." I mumble, pausing a moment to steady by heartrate. It seems I may have also gotten a concussion from the crash.

The only thing that alerts me that Apollo's blessing is still in effect is the fact that I haven't been severely injured just yet. Really only minor medical faults. My burn could have very easily been more than a 'light toasting'. Instead of my hair, I could've lost a leg or arm, or hand or foot. Things could be going much worse for me.

"Percy!" I shout again, having to make the effort to push him off of the tree trunk before he finally wakes.

"Yeah?"

"Blackjack should be here any minute! Get up," I continue, offering my hand for him to stand.

_Yeah boss! I'm almost here! _I hear the voice in my head, startling me so much I nearly trip backwards.

"What was that?" I frown, instinctively bringing a hand up to my cheek.

"You heard that? It was Blackjack! I guess I was right the first time, all of us children of Poseidon can speak to and understand animals he created," Percy explains happily, watching the skies for his Pegasus.

"Um…I don't think that's as good a thing as you think it is Percy," I say, following his eyes up through the tree canopies to the sky. He shrugs.

"Oh, guys look!" Annabeth says suddenly, pointing us in the complete opposite direction than that of where we were facing. There he is, a real life Pegasus.

_He's gorgeous! _I think to myself. I could swear I see the black stallion with wings wink at me.

_Thanks Lady Boss, _I hear the response.

A white Pegasus, and a spotted Pegasus follow behind him, creating a V-Formation. It's almost mesmerizing.

They land gracefully in front of us, their manes fluttering in a light wind.

"Hey, Blackjack. I owe you a bag of sugar cubes," Percy promises him, stepping closer to run a hand through his hair.

For whatever reason, I feel myself being drawn to the spotted one.

_What's your name? _I ask her, in pure awe of her beauty. She has the longest eyelashes I'd ever seen.

_Venus, what's yours?_

_I'm Lily,_

_Pleasure to meet you, I've heard much about you from Juno._

I freeze, my hand an inch from her mane.

"Juno?!" I ask, slightly horrified. What has Hera told Venus about me? And why did she send Venus, for _me_? I thought she had faith in me, she was the only one who had faith in me…

"What is it, Lily?" Percy asks me, coming over to me and Venus. He didn't hear any of that? I look away, and look back, calmer.

"Nothing, I just…thought I saw something," I lie, looking back at Venus.

_Good one, Lily._ She whispers in my mind.

_You need to tell me now why He-Juno sent you, _I demand. If a Pegasus could grin, I assume Venus would be now.

_To help you get to South Carolina, of course._

_Whatever, _I sigh, defeated.

"Lily?" Annabeth snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, right, we should be leaving." I finish for her, turning away and hopping up on Venus.

We take off a few seconds later, and I have to say, it wasn't as graceful as their landing, instead it felt as if I was on a rickety wooden coaster just about ready for the loop-de-loop.

Maybe that was just Venus.

About three minutes into our flight, I try to make small talk with Percy and Annabeth, by yelling.

"So how long until South Carolina!" I say, leaning my body closer to Venus' neck, for stability.

"We have to stop in North Carolina, so the Pegasus can rest! It'll be about three hours!" She says back, stroking the neck of her Pegasus.

_The name's Short-Stack. _He speaks to me. Forgot about that.

_Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. _I apologize quickly, to _Short-Stack._

I watch him nod, and slow down slightly, to prevent breaking formation.

_Alright, Venus. Are you really going to keep me in the dark? _I try again.

_Lady Juno requested that I don't get involved._

_Ok, what is that? Why do you keep calling Hera, Juno?_

_She asked that I use Juno when I speak to you about her,_

_And why would she ever do that? I've never even met Hera!_

And then Venus goes silent. Serves me right for losing my temper. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. Though I guess that's just the stress of being a demigod.

After a while of just holding on for dear life as the wind scrapes my face and brushes my burn, I decide to try closing my eyes for a while. They say that helps with motion sickness, right?

_Oh, great, another dream…_ I think to myself just before I drift off.

_In Lily's dreams…_

"_Lily?" I hear his voice, turning around._

"_Nico? What's going on?" I ask him, almost relieved its him and not Gaea again. He smiles, coming closer._

"_Sometimes I like to enter the dreams of others, Clovis from Hypnos' Cabin taught me. It's a skill…" He explains, casually taking a seat on the ground._

_I follow suit, sitting across from him._

"_So what brings you into my dreams?" I wonder nervously, sure that I'm already blushing. You don't need to know why._

"_I wanted to find out how the quest was going. I figured it would be easier to talk to you like this. No unwanted ears listening," He says ominously, his eyes glittering. I suppose he hasn't yet noticed my hair, or he would've been able to assume the quest has been fairly, surprising, so far._

"_Well, I haven't been much of a leader. For the most part I've still been following Percy and Annabeth's lead," I frown, looking away from him. He shifts, clearly unsure of what to say to me._

"_Well, I'm sure it'll get better. You'll find the right moment to take control, I'm sure of it," He says, running a hand through his unkempt hair awkwardly._

"_Yeah, I guess…" I pause, "How's camp been getting along?"_

"_Chiron has all the campers preparing for-"_

"_When I fail," I finish for him, staring at the ground between us._

"_He just wants us to be ready, is all. We all have confidence in you." He says quickly._

"_I'm sure you do," I reply miserably, refusing to look at him._

"_Lily, I-" Nico stops suddenly, my sight becoming fuzzy, until there's only darkness…_

_In Reality…_

"We're here, sleepy head," Annabeth smiles at me as I open my eyes, blinking.


	27. Reptile Rangle Park

_**Lily's POV**_

We land just outside of what looks to be a state park. But I don't bother asking Annabeth for clarification. Instead I hop down from Venus and stretch.

"Had a nice nap?" Percy asks me, still on Blackjack. My mind goes back to the talk with Nico.

"Sort of," I smile lightly, reaching for the headphones in my pocket, and my iPod. I put in one earbud, waiting for direction from either Percy or Annabeth. Nothing comes.

"It's your quest, Lily." Annabeth pushes, metaphorically handing over the reins. I take a minute to look over our surroundings.

"Lunch, first order of business!" I declare, waiting for approval.

"I wholeheartedly agree, fair leader!" Percy shouts. Annabeth only nods at our slight stupidity, following behind us as we make our way in the direction of the food court sign, our Pegasus galloping behind.

It makes me wonder what the mortals see, three horses? Or maybe something else, even less suspicious for three teens to be handling?

Regardless, it takes us ten minutes of walking to arrive at the large open-air food court. Once we do, we split up, each of us bringing our respective Pegasus with us to get something to eat, deciding to meet up at a picnic table in the exact center of the court when we're ready.

I walk with Venus straight for the 'Burgers of America' stand.

_I cannot eat something so greasy! _She complains almost instantly, forcing us onto the 'Strictly Vegan' stand, where I end up buying three veggie burgers for myself alone, and a mixed rice and lettuce bowl for Venus.

We're the last ones back to the center picnic table.

"Veggie burgers? I didn't realize you were vegan," Annabeth mumbles, taking a bite of her burrito.

"She's not," Percy shakes his head, looking at me with curious eyes.

"Percy's right, I'm not. This was all Venus' idea." I frown, taking a tentative bite into the burger, before placing it back down on the plate.

"But I have to admit, it's not bad."

_See? _Venus taunts.

"Whatever." I frown, taking another few bites.

"Somethings up, I don't know what it is, but I feel like we should check out the entire park before we head for South Carolina," Annabeth tells us, sipping from her coke can.

"Is this payback for not taking you to see the Colosseum last year with J-"

"I mean it, Percy." She says again, glancing around a moment before resettling her eyes on her food. I finish my first burger before joining in the conversation.

"I don't know, Annabeth. We haven't gotten far in the last few days," I remind her, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

"I just…It's your choice Lily, you're the leader out here." She decides, finishing her burrito. Percy dips his French fry into the ketchup.

"Yeah, you're choice Lily," He says, stuffing the fry into his mouth.

_You should stay here a while, _Venus whispers, making me cringe. I don't think I'll ever get used to that. Especially when I'm not sure I can trust her.

But still, "Let's stay."

"I'll go get a park directory," Annabeth says, standing with hers and Percy's trash.

"Be right back!" She promises, turning away.

I finish my last burger.

"Peer pressure," I murmur under my breath.

We get about ten feet from the food court when we meet our first few monsters, luckily, out of view from any mortals.

"I had a hunch," Annabeth smirks at me, before the short-lived fight with Basilisks begins.

The first one lunges for my throat, but I slice its head off before it gets the chance. The next two fall to Percy and Annabeth, and the last one dies under my foot.

"It's like these four strayed from their pack…They've always hunted in larger numbers so they could surround the prey!" Annabeth observes, kicking away the golden dust in front of her.

"It is weird, they were just…_there_." Percy agrees, wiping his forehead off with his hand.

"Honestly, let's be grateful it wasn't more than four," I sigh, already beginning to walk back onto the designated trail. Annabeth comes up to my side first.

"It's not that, that bothers me Lily. It just feels like this was a distraction, something to get us tired before the real fight…" She frowns, holding her dagger out ahead of us while we walk.

Percy comes up beside me next, and I can hear the Pegasus behind us.

"Are we sure we want to continue along this path? Even Blackjack is anxious." Percy asks, glancing back the way we came.

"It's ok. We can handle whatever's down this path." I reassure them both, a hand ready at my iPod, just in case.

But twenty minutes later, nothing else has attacked, as we arrive at another courtyard, picnic/gathering spot. Though, there seems to be more people here, some lounging on the grass, some gazing at the signs littered around the circumference detailing native plants and endangered species, some just standing around taking in the sights of the park.

"What now?" I ask aloud, looking for any one sign of danger. And though I don't seem to have the same sense for anything out of place that Annabeth and Percy have picked up, I find nothing.

"I…don't know," Annabeth says finally, slipping her dagger back into its sheath, just as I catch _his _eyes…


	28. Him

_**Lily's POV**_

When I saw those electric blue eyes, the memories came flooding back from when I was only 13 years old. I listened as Percy called him over to our group and watched him turn our way, before I faded into my memories, and there was nothing I could do to make it stop.

It was August 18, 3 years ago. I'll never forget it, because I had the strangest dream-at least I thought it was a dream then-that day. A monster followed me home, a Chimera I think it's called. It was my mistake to leave school alone, to head home by the alley between streets. It was almost dark already, so I thought maybe a shortcut would make it faster. I thought I'd get home safe, with no issues. I was wrong.

I woke up in my bedroom, in my bed. So of course it was only a nightmare right? My imagination? Now I'm not so sure, looking into his eyes.

The thing followed me all the way to the alley way, without my noticing. That was of course, until I finally turned around, hearing something scraping the brick wall behind me. The scraping sound? It's huge, snake-headed tail.

I screamed as it got closer, paralyzed and unable to move. My second mistake that day was to try and fight it on my own. The streets of San Francisco were eerily empty that day. No one was there to save me. A whole 2 minutes later I was flung against the cement ground, breathing heavily, a large gash down the side of my left arm.

That was when I saw him. The tall, relatively handsome, blonde boy with the electric blue eyes, running up from behind the monster, with a long golden sword in hand.

I passed out shortly after watching him slay the Chimera in front of my eyes and rush over to me.

When I woke up again, I was lying on a couch, the blonde haired boy standing in front of me, and a crowd of kids both older and younger than me standing around us. This really annoying looking different blonde kid stood a few feet ahead of the crowd, a white cape on his back, and a teddy bear under his arm. I was dizzy, but tried my best to listen in to their conversation.

"Jason Grace, why have you brought this _girl_ here," The kid with the bear shouted, which was pretty dumb considering the bo-_Jason_ was right in front of him. I could tell right off the bat this kid wanted all the attention. Jason paused a minute, before talking.

"She's one of us, _Octavian_. A monster almost killed her a few minutes ago. We need to let her into the Legion…we could always use more warriors in the battle at Mount Othrys," Jason explains, turning briefly to me, noticing at last that I had woken up. He gives me a sad smile before turning back to…Octavian. For a moment I wondered about what he said. Mount Othrys, like, in Greece?

"She cannot join. She has not yet proved her worth by training with Lupa. True Romans show no fear, if she did indeed almost die, then she is not worthy to join the Legion." Octavian declares. He was making me angry. I wondered if anyone else had noticed the small pipe burst a few roofs away, water sprouting from the hole. A taller girl, with beautiful long black hair in a braid, and a purple cape along her shoulders steps forward from the crowd. She's regal. She's got power.

"Jason, though I admire your compassion, Octavian is right. She can't join the Legion until Lupa has tested her." The girl says. The gold on her cape shines. It only makes me dizzier.

"But Reyna-" Jason objects, silenced by her hand.

"I'm sorry, Jason. But as Praetor of Camp Jupiter, I cannot allow her to join. Its law," Reyna states, sympathy in her tone. It was obvious to me then that they were close, but it was also obvious that if she had let me join whatever it is Jason wanted me to join, she'd be faced with trouble among the crowd of kids. She was strong. She glanced at me for a moment, an immediately I felt the strength return to my bones, so much so that I was able to pull myself into a sitting position in front of the crowd of kids. They looked at me strangely, like I was a single strip of bacon in the middle of a pack of dogs. It was weird. She was magical.

Which of course was another reason I thought it was only a dream. No one could give strength to someone else, right?

But then again, if Jason really was a real person, that meant Reyna and Octavian must've been real too. It's just too hard to believe, even knowing now that I am a demigod, with strange powers of my own.

Jason helped me to stand, and we were starting to walk away when I felt a sudden surge of sleepiness. Like someone had hit me with a brick, _that sudden_.

"Bring her back to wherever she came from, _Grace_." I heard Octavian say, just before I passed out again, and everything went dark.

The next morning I woke up in my bed, not a scar on my arm, nothing. A strange dream indeed.

Except, I kept seeing the blonde haired boy on and off for a year. I could've sworn I'd seen him in the shadows, watching me, many times I'd walked home from school alone, without Becky.

The same Becky who turned out to be a monster.

A monster trying to kill me, the pipe bursting pulsing water into the sky when I got mad, Jason slaying the Chimera, the sensation of gaining my strength back instantly when Reyna looked my way…

All things that _should not_ have been real. All characteristics of a really bad dream/nightmare.

I'd had plenty of other 'nightmares' about monsters following me home, plenty of other 'dreams' about bursting plumbing lines in school and dousing the people who'd made fun of me.

My mom had always made it clear that the things I'd seen, the things I'd done, were all just a result of my vivid imagination. So I believed that August 18th, was only a day in my mind.

Even after my mother had told me about my father and who I really was, the thought never crossed my mind that August 18th really happened. It was the only event I still refused to believe, until now.

Jason is right in front of me. The Jason from August 18th, who saved my life, and brought me to Reyna-who could give strength to others-and Octavian-the teddy bear kid. And I really did cause the pipe to burst. I did that with my anger alone.

Because I am a demigod, and so is Jason, and probably Reyna and Octavian too. And it's only really hitting me now.

Like a ton of teddy bears.


	29. Roman Territory

**A/N: This is important to this chapter especially:**

**REMEMBER, THALIA NEVER JOINED THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS BECAUSE IT WAS CLEAR PERCY WAS THE CHILD OF PROPHECY. Jason only really knows about the Amazons because of Reyna.**

**(Yes, I know that would mean things get ruined and changed during the Heroes of Olympus series. BUT THIS IS ALREADY AU, SO THE ONLY THING THAT CHANGES HERE IS THAT THALIA IS NOT A HUNTER.)**

**Everything else that happens after the time she would've become a Hunter stays the same, up until 2 years after the fight with Gaea which of course is when this story takes place.**

_**Lily's POV**_

I didn't snap out of it until I felt Percy shaking me wildly, calling my name in fear. It was how I realized I had fallen back to the ground in my memories. My brother probably assumed something horrible had happened, what with everything Hades had done to me before, even if I still had Apollo's blessing and could not get hurt.

I blinked to let him know I was ok, but then I realized fresh tears were streaming down my face. Jason had rushed over to us and was standing by Percy glancing down at me nervously, and Annabeth was kneeling down at my side. No one else in the park seemed to notice us. As Percy helped me up, I noticed Jason's eyes widen, the memories coming back to him too.

"Lily, are you ok? What happened? I thought…" Percy trailed off, pulling me into a tight hug. As he pulls back, I wipe my tears.

I'm not a child anymore, I tell myself.

Jason steps forward and places a hand on Percy's shoulder.

"Jackson, you have a sister?" He asks, giving me the same sad smile he gave me all those years ago.

"I'm Lily Reyes, nice to finally see you again, _Jason_." I interrupt, my voice coming off more miserable then I'd meant it to be. He saved my life, but for whatever reason seeing him here makes me insecure.

"Wait, you know Jason?" Percy asks me, looking at Jason.

"I assume this was before Hera messed everything up, and Jason was in California. Around the same time Lily was," Annabeth says aloud, looking at me.

I step forward to Jason, who's nodding at Annabeth's prediction. I don't know what she means by Hera 'messing everything up', but I guess it doesn't matter now.

Something about his orange Camp Half Blood shirt feels wrong. I don't know what that is, but I set the thought aside as I look straight into his electric blue eyes.

"You saved my life, three years ago on August 18th, and protected me from the shadows for almost a year after. But you never came back for me after all that. If you're a demigod, which I assume you are by the shirt, you could've pleaded with Reyna…you could've gotten me to camp sooner, maybe I could've trained some with my brother before…" I trail off, something registering in my mind as soon as I say her name.

"Wait, what happened to Reyna?" I ask. He frowns slightly, as if remembering something saddening, and glances down at his shirt. Again, something about it is off, and the way he closed up when I said Reyna's name just made it clearer to see. I remember her purple regal gown. With gold accents. And then I just barely remember a glimpse of the same purple and gold on Jason, his shirt, I think it was.

My mind instantly goes back to the girl in the picture in Nico's cabin. It had to be Reyna; I don't know how Nico is involved in any of this but that was her. I'm sure of it now.

That was when I noticed the tattoo on Jason's right arm. Was that there when I first met him?

"I'm not from Camp Half Blood. Or rather, not originally. When you met me I was a part of the Twelfth Legion of Camp Jupiter. I switched camps after because of Juno," Jason explains, still staring down at his shirt. Juno is the Roman form of Hera. My mom taught me all about the Greek gods and goddesses as a child. Never the Roman. Percy looked between us both, not saying a word. I guess he was leaving it to me to sort this out myself. Annabeth watched us near him on the sidelines, waiting for a reaction on my part. But I think subconsciously at least I had always known Jason was different. From the day I met him in my 'dreams.' He isn't like Annabeth, Percy and I. He's a different sort of demigod, and I can guess that Reyna and that jerk Octavian were too.

"I'm sorry I couldn't go back to help you Lily. Things got really complicated after I met you, there was nothing I could do. If I had known you were Percy's half-sister…You know what, how about we start over. I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." He continues, giving me a bright white smile. I step forward just enough to separate myself from my brother and Annabeth.

"Nice to meet you Jason, I'm Lily Reyes, daughter of Poseidon." I reintroduce myself, already feeling a lot less threatened in his presence. I think I can understand complicated. One of the things we all have in common is our demigod-liness. We stand there for a minute, smiling at the newly formed friendship, until finally Percy intervenes.

"Ok, break it up guys…You have a girlfriend, remember Grace?" Percy declares finally, stepping in front of me. I laugh, sure Jason's pretty cute-blonde hair, blue eyes and such-and he saved my life, but I don't feel that way about him. There's someone else I like…Annabeth smiles beside me.

"Seaweed brain, I think you're overreacting. Piper and Jason love each other, _right Jason_?" Annabeth questioned, her voice becoming more serious towards the end. If I were Jason I wouldn't have hesitated. Annabeth is no girl to be taken lightly. And Jason didn't hesitate, turning toward Annabeth.

"Don't worry Annabeth, Piper is the only girl for me...no offense Lily," He says, glancing my way for a moment before turning back to Annabeth. I'm about to comment on that, when I remember we're supposed to be on a quest to stop Gaea's giant.

_A meeting with Rome in the East…_

"Jason, why are you here?" I blurt out, remembering the third line of Rachel's prophecy. All three of them look at me, and I can feel my cheeks redden. Their eyes are so striking, and all of them are staring at me.

"Well, I was going to find lunch for Piper, Leo and I and-" I interrupt him.

"No, I meant why aren't you at camp? Are you on a quest?" I say again, and watch for a moment as Annabeth's eyes light up in a pale grey the moment she realizes the same thing I have.

"Jason is the meeting with Rome in the East, Jason your quest must be important to ours." Annabeth shouts unexpectedly, and I can see her physically working out the possibilities of how this could work in her mind.

"Well, we haven't found Ares' spear if that's what you're asking. So far we've checked out three different Immortals. Hermes because he's the God of thievery, Aphrodite, you know because maybe Ares lent it to her and she misplaced it or something, and Hephaestus because he hates Ares. Pretty much all of those were a waste of time, especially Aphrodite because she kind of stole Piper from us to play dress up with. For like five hours." Jason explained, glancing up at the sky as he thought.

"This isn't good, the next line of the prophecy said something about being too late, didn't it?" I exclaim, placing a hand on Percy's shoulder to steady myself. This can't already be the end, have I already failed everyone? I feel Percy's arm slide around my waist, and let myself slump forward just a bit. I just don't understand why all the pressure is on me…

"Don't worry, I'm sure there's still plenty of time for Jason and the others to get the spear back. We haven't gotten to Greece yet, it's too early for anything to happen," Percy assures me.

"Why does everything always have to be so complicated?" I groan, stepping away from Percy again.

"I should go, I think it's clear Piper, Leo and I need to get back to our quest. It really was nice to see you again Lily." Jason decides, starting to turn away only to abruptly stop when he sees a pamphlet on the ground. I have to look at it a second before I realize it's mine. A silvery moon magically draws itself across the cover as Jason picks it up, Percy and Annabeth watching him. It's the Hunters of Artemis brochure Apollo had left me as a gift from his twin.

I had it in my purse, but I guess it fell out when I nearly fainted after seeing Jason.

I notice Annabeth specifically eyeing it nervously, until the words 'Hunters of Artemis' finish writing themselves in Greek across the front.

"What is this?" Jason asks aloud, Annabeth snatching it before he can read the words.

"Lily…is this yours?" Annabeth accuses me. I just can't understand why she seems so…worried? I haven't read it through yet, but I still remember the letter Artemis sent with it, under my pillow.

_Lily,_

_I have heard such great things from my brother about you. You have the warrior's spirit, you would make a great addition to my Hunters. You may not see it now, but you have the power to change our world. You are a hero. I look forward to meeting you. I have left a brochure with my brother for you, I hope you find your way to us._

"Yeah, it's mine." I say, stepping forward to take it back. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to lose my pamphlet either. I need to know what the goddess sent for me. I'm about to grab it from her hand when Annabeth steps back, like I've offended her.

"Lily, no." Percy commands me, walking to stand next to Annabeth. What did I do? I put my hand down. Jason looks about as confused as I feel. I avert my eyes, their stares alone make me feel ashamed that I even wanted it back.

"Please tell me you don't want to join the Hunters." Percy pleads, and I look back up to him.

"I haven't read the pamphlet yet. I don't know…" I admit. Jason intervenes.

"Wait, Lily has a brochure from the Amazons?" He asks, but Percy shakes his head.

"No, but…Thalia almost joined _these_ Hunters." Percy explained, turning away from me completely. Jason's eyes widen a bit. Thalia's one of Annabeth's friends, she helped rescue me from the Underworld, and train me. It takes me another minute before I realize Jason and Thalia are related. Thalia and Jason Grace. I almost say something about it out loud, until I notice Annabeth is still staring at me a bit accusingly.

"Lily, you don't understand, if you join the Hunters, you'll probably never see Percy again. And you could be killed on the job. Trust me, I…I almost joined them too, with Thalia." She says quickly.

"What do you mean I'll never see Percy again?" I nearly shout, lowering my voice after I notice other people glance our way.

"The Hunters never associate with men. Not by Artemis' side, one of the three maiden goddesses. By becoming a Hunter, you swear to reject all men, maybe Percy would be an exception because of all he's done for her, but I don't doubt that it could change in a second." She continues, glancing up at the sky like she's afraid it will all fall down on her. When she does I notice a strand of grey hair, shining in her golden curls. Percy jumps into the conversation again almost immediately.

"Lily you can't do this. Almost a week after Nico's sister joined them, she was killed. I still blame myself for that." He says, glancing over at Jason and Annabeth before turning back to me.

"Nico…he had a sister?" I ask, thinking back to the cold, sad look he gave me right after kidnapping me. I assumed he had family issues, but only because of his father. I never would've guessed he had lost a sister. Again I think back to the pictures in his cabin. The girl in the faded photos must've been her.

"Bianca DiAngelo. Now Nico has Hazel, his half-sister, but he was never the same after he lost Bianca." Percy finished, and I knew I was convinced. I won't join the Hunters. I don't want to hurt everyone I care about.

But that isn't the real issue at this point. We need to get back to our quest. The time for speaking is up.

"I get it, I really do. I won't join the Hunters. But, right now this quest is more important. Jason needs to find the spear, and we need to get to Greece." I declare, looking over to Percy who nods.

And so Jason leaves back to his friends, and Percy, Annabeth and I head off, to South Carolina, then Greece we go.


	30. Earth's Fury

_**Lily's POV**_

We are on our Pegasus' in the air, an hour later. But my mind has been clouded with thought since we'd seen Jason. Venus wasn't helping, at all.

_You haven't thought about this nearly as much as you should have, _She nags at the back of my mind.

_I've been thinking about this prophecy since the moment I got it, _I counter.

_Lady Juno was right, no matter how many truths are thrown your way, you still gravitate towards the lie._

_What does that even mean? _I shout at her, frustrated. But now she chooses to go silent.

"She's still right. I am missing something, and it's because I haven't thought all of this through." I mumble to myself, shutting my eyes.

_Ok, what do I know? _I think to myself, purposely shutting out Venus.

_Nothing for sure, that's what…_

"Are you sure you're ok, Lily?" Annabeth whispers beside me, startling me out of my thoughts. She has pulled Short-stack closer to Venus and I. I only nod, avoiding her piercing stare. She catches my lie right off the bat.

"You've been out of it since we saw Jason," She continues, her voice betraying no emotion.

"I'm fine," I grimace, a lot more hostility then I'd intended, showing in my voice. She shifts uncomfortably, but keeps going.

"If this is about the Hunters, we're just worried about you. We don't want you to end up like Bianca,"

I stay silent, and she seems to take this as me acknowledging that she's right.

"I'm sorry if we sounded like we don't believe in you, believe me that's not it."

A few moments of my silence and then…

"Ok, I get it. You don't want to talk right now, but just know that I'm sorry if I disregarded how you felt earlier." She finishes, Short-stack drifting off to the side. I sigh.

"It's not you Annabeth, it's me…" I mumble pathetically, "There's this big picture right in front of me, I can feel the pieces surfacing. But they aren't coming together fast enough, and the picture is becoming blurry. I just want to feel some sort of confidence, but I can't while these clues are staring me in the face,"

_What if Gaea was telling the truth this entire time? What did the gods steal from my past, who am I?_

"I could really use some motherly advice," I mutter under my breath, wrapping my arms around Venus' neck and leaning my head on hers, staring across the sky absently.

"Or, fatherly advice would do too, _Dad_." I whisper bitterly, blinking.

"_Fort Sumter, _welcome to South Carolina guys," Percy shouts from ahead. I lean back again, glancing down to the ground to check out the famous site. I hear Annabeth let out a small, almost intelligible whimper beside me.

"You ok?" I ask, letting go of my own feelings for a moment. She smiles awkwardly.

"Yeah, just…it's nothing." She decides quickly, staring straight ahead.

"We're going to land in the city, then head to the Yacht Club by foot. Blackjack's getting tired, we've been flying for at least three hours now." Percy shouts again, taking a small dip to descend. Venus and Short-stack follow suit.

_Has it really been three hours?_ I wonder to myself, as we gently approach the ground.

_It's been two hours, four minutes, and forty-seven seconds. _Venus replies, once again startling me to the point I have to grab hold of her mane before I fall off into the open sky.

_Please stop doing that. I'm trying really hard to trust you. But it's difficult when you keep invading my thoughts!_

_You shouldn't trust me, _

_Wow, thanks Venus. At least you have the decency to admit that you've been avoiding all of my questions since you came, and that Hera is using you to watch me like a hawk, for some secretive, possibly nefarious, reason. _I retort, already becoming frustrated.

_Those are good instincts to have, Lily. These trust issues at least let you know what your fatal flaw isn't._

_Fatal flaw? _I ask her, unsure I even want to know.

_A trait you have that may just be your death. These are traits you have to work to keep in check. _She explains, pausing.

_It is obvious you do not share Percy's fatal flaw of loyalty. You don't not give trust away easily, a very good trait to have. _She continues.

_So what is my flaw? _I ask again, suddenly antsy.

_Well-_ She stops, as we gracefully skid to a stop on the ground. I hop off of Venus, a sudden headache hitting me hard.

"Whoa," I stumble for a second, shutting my eyes to steady myself. After a minute I reopen them, but the headache remains.

_Something isn't right_. The thought surfaces at the back of my mind. I push it away, shifting my weight.

"I've never been out of California, let alone to Charleston. It's beautiful." I observe, glancing around at the buildings that seemed to have stood there since Charleston became a city. Percy steps up beside me, a grin plastered across his face.

"It is isn't it," He agrees. Annabeth intervenes.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but we have to start walking guys…Alright, we're on the corner of Pinckney Street and Meeting Street, the coast is…that way!" She directs us, pointing down Pinckney to a sign reading Church Street.

"We'll have to make a few turns here and there, and walk for a while, but we should be at the coast within an hour. Concord Street is our goal, the Yacht Club is on a small peninsula jutting out from there." She explains as we start on our way towards Church Street.

Ten minutes later we arrive at the street, and my headache grows stronger. Annabeth and Percy have taken the lead, talking to each other, not necessarily paying attention to me or the Pegasus behind them.

_We're going the wrong way, _Venus says suddenly, stopping. Short-stack and Blackjack move ahead of us, clearly oblivious to Venus and I having stopped.

_Annabeth is using a GPS signal, this is the right direction. _I tell her, but she refuses to move when I tug gently at her rein.

_No, we should be headed further North. I can feel it. _She whispers in my mind. I groan.

_Yeah, I get it. You know everything I don't, now can we please catch up with the others? _I beg, and she deliberately turns away from me, galloping off in the opposite direction.

I have to jog to catch up to her.

"What is wrong with you, Venus!" I shout now, following behind her as we merge onto Meeting Street once again.

She skids to a stop, and I almost run into her.

_This is the true way, _She sniffs at the air, leaving me in the dust as she gallops further north on Meeting Street. But at this point, I have to keep following her, because I know I'll get lost on my own if I try to find Percy and Annabeth. I assume by this point they've at least reached the next street intersection.

Thirty more minutes of running, and we arrive at an empty park.

"Where are we?" I demand, panting for a few seconds before my strength returns.

_Thank you, Apollo_. I think.

_Marion Park. This is it. This is where we should be. _She tells me, stepping into the shade of the trees that line the outer edge of the park. I follow slowly, my headache now raging.

"Something is off about this place," I whisper, though I'm not sure why I feel the need to whisper in the already deathly quiet park. I watch Venus investigate the scene, before halting beside a tree, and collapsing into sleep, her wings fanning out about her.

"Seriously!" I yell, marching up to her in an attempt to wake her. My hands are an inch from her wings when the ground shakes, and I fall back.

_Child, _I hear Gaea's voice in my mind. This is _NOT GOOD_. I back up from Venus quick, still on the ground.

_You shouldn't be afraid young hero. I have only sought you forth to offer you a proposition. _She says, as if that's supposed to make me feel better.

The ground shakes again, and then splits, the earth opening up ahead of me. I almost get up, a hand on my iPod, but falter when I see what rises up from the dirt.

"Mom?" I whisper, horrified, as her body forms itself.

"What did you do to her?" I yell, as the form seems to solidify, the dirt rolling off of her in small waves.

_I only preserved her for this moment. Your mother will be fine. So long as you agree to my simple terms. _Gaea continues, as if we were only hanging out in the park.

My mom now lies before me, her breathing steady, but still unconscious.

"Mom." I say again, a tear slipping for my eye as I reach for her hand. It melts into a puddle of mud just as my fingers meet hers. Instantly I recoil.

Gaea laughs in my mind. _Eh, eh, eh! Not until you've agreed. _She taunts.

"What do you want?!" I shout, picking myself up to stand so that I can no longer directly face my mother.

_I'll advise you not to speak to me in such a way, child. I have given you chance after chance, yet you still disobey my order!_

I stay silent, waiting.

_This is your final chance, Lily Reyes. Join me, and become a ruler of the New World. I am beyond saving your friends, but I will still give you the opportunity to save your mother._

I gulp, glancing down at my mom one last time before replying.

"No,"

_You insolent girl! Be it as you wish, you shall die alongside your mother! _She shouts in my mind, the ground shifting again.

I fall again as the ground begins to open up again, pushing the grass and trees around it down.

"Mom!" I yell, trying to grab for her nonexistent hand as I get pulled in myself.

_BLACKJACK, SHORT-STACK! MARION PARK! PLEASE HELP ME?! _I yell in my mind like a maniac, barely grasping at the bit of solid ground ahead of me.

Tears sting my face as I watch my mom's face slip under the dirt once again, gone.

"No, no, no!" I shout, weakly trying to pull myself up out of the widening hole. My legs are dangling below me, and every time I pull myself out an inch, the ground sinks another.

_This can't be happening! _I shut my eyes, grasping at open air until finally I miss with one hand. I drop an entire foot, the hole continuing to widen as I hold on for dear life with one hand.

_PLEASE!? _I try again, hearing no response from either Pegasus. I can only assume a sleeping Venus has already met her demise under the ground.

That's when I hear the whoosh of wings flapping in the distance. _They heard me_.

"Percy! Annabeth! Please, help me!" I yell, my grip on the solid ground loosening with every coming moment.

"I'm here!" I shout again, attempting to reach up with my other hand, when my grip is lost, and I fall…

I am moments from my death when a hand grabs mine and I go shooting up into the sky again, just as the hole in the ground closes, swallowing anything that had been caught in the vicinity.

The force of it all sends me thumping into the ground seconds later.

Blackjack and Short-stack stop beside me, Annabeth and Percy hopping off their backs just before they even touch ground, rushing over to me.

And I break out into sobs, nearly convulsing on the dirt, feet away from where my mother had just been.

Percy's arms wrap around me, but there's no way he could possibly understand my emotions.

"Lily, what happened?" Annabeth tries, but I ignore her, punching at the ground.

The tears blur my vision, and eventually I just close them, my mom's face coming into view.

_You just can't be gone, no! _ I scream at myself, a high pitched screech escaping my lips.

The sun is setting over the horizon, and I still haven't stopped crying…


	31. Behind her Back-up Plan

_**Lily's POV**_

"Lily, I'm so sorry." Nico whispers behind me, but I don't turn around to face the Iris Message. I've spent most of the night awake, away from Percy and Annabeth, staring at the dirt of this dreaded park below me. My eyes are surely swollen, my face probably red as a tomato, but I can't make myself stop crying.

I have a feeling Annabeth and Percy have been taking turns watching over me, but neither of them know what happened yesterday yet.

It's around 1 AM from the position of the moon in the sky.

"You sensed it?" I ask quietly, choking on the words. There's a long pause.

"Yes, I did."

"Do you know if she's been judged?" I ask, this time letting out a small whimper.

"Not yet I don't think,"

"There was nothing I could do," I continue, trying to convince myself more than anything.

Venus nudges my arm, and I face her slowly.

_You didn't know, she tricked us both. _I assure her, finally turning back to face Nico.

"You didn't have to call," I mumble, wiping my eyes only for my vision to be blurred with fresh tears again.

"Yes, I did. You're my friend remember?"

"I'm fine," I lie weakly. He frowns, leaning closer to the screen.

"I don't want you to end up like me, Lily. I was so consumed with anger after my sister-"

"I know what happened to Bianca…I was invited to join the Hunters. I'm sorry." I interrupt.

"You have no reason to be sorry,"

"And neither do you," I say again, blinking away another stream of tears. He frowns, just as I hear a knock at his cabin door. He turns away briefly, then looks back at me.

"Just go," I say quickly, "Thanks for calling, I um, I guess I'll see you again when this quest is over…if I live long enough," I mutter the last part, breaking the connection before he can say more.

"You mom, she's…Gaea killed her?" Percy comes up from behind me, startling me. I merely nod, turning to face him, my eyes already watering again.

"Oh, Lily. I'm so sorry," He says simply, pulling me into another gentle hug. When I pull away, I take a minute to wipe my eyes, a futile attempt to stop crying.

"You were watching me this whole time," I observe, crossing my arms behind my back.

"I was worried about you. I had no idea what happened," He explains slowly, motioning for us both to sit back down by Venus, who's begun to purr in her own sleep. I continue to stand.

"I couldn't find a way to tell you, Nico had sensed it. I didn't have to say a word." I say quickly, in my own defense as to why I didn't tell them. He nods, in understanding.

"I know, its fine Lily. I just…I'm so sorry we couldn't get there in time to save your mom too." He frowns. I just lower my eyes to the ground, saying nothing.

_This was my fault, not yours. _I think.

"We'll leave to the coast later this morning, you need to rest. Really rest Lily," He tells me, a hand on my shoulder. I shrug him off, a surge of sudden anger rolling through me.

"How can I sleep when every time I close my eyes I see my mother's face?!" I blurt out, my entire frame shuddering when I re-watch the moment her face disappears below the surface, once again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, I'm sorry. You're only trying to help…And you're right. I'll go sleep. Promise," I say quickly, rushing away from him into the shadows of the trees where he can't see me tear up again.

_**Percy's POV**_

The second Lily leaves me there, I go to wake up Annabeth. We need to talk about this.

"Wise Girl?" I whisper, crouched over her peaceful figure, minutes later. She wakes without hesitation, her mind obviously still on Lily as mine has been since we found her in this park.

"You found out what happened," She whispers back, the expression on my face pretty much giving it away.

"Her mom," I tell her. She frowns, her own eyes tearing.

"Oh my gods,"

"Look, Lily's not ok. At all. I'm worried she won't be better by the time we get to Greece." I confide in her, taking her hand to help her sit up.

"You think we need a backup plan," She continues for me, glancing up at me with thoughtfully clear grey eyes.

"I don't know if I want her anywhere near the battle with Gaea, she'll…she'll probably die. And I can't let that happen." I say, looking back the way I came, to the tree Lily is sitting behind.

"So what can we do?" Annabeth asks herself, as I sit next to her on the ground.

"Where did Jason, Piper, and Leo head for to search for the spear?" I ask her, staring at the ground.

"They didn't say, but the prophecy says our quests will intertwine, so I assume we'll be meeting again before or when we arrive in Greece, probably when they find it." Annabeth replies, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"I just don't want her there. It has got to be Porphyrion's plan. Gaea woke on the blood of Olympus two years ago, our blood. The blood of one girl, and one boy, demigods." I recount, shutting my eyes as I replay my memories of the day in Greece.

It was my nosebleed that had started a chain of events.

"You and Lily must be the ones she needs now. There is something different about Lily, something special. Gaea tried to get rid of her early, while we weren't there, so we couldn't save her. If you and Lily arrive on Greece together, and Porphyrion makes you both bleed, that's it." Annabeth concludes.

"So we have to keep her away from wherever Gaea is planning to rise this time around. And I have to, not bleed." I say.

"And then you and I have to defeat Porphyrion, together."

"Just like old times," I smile lightly, hoping to myself that this works.

We won't let Lily die, and we won't let Porphyrion survive, or Gaea rise.


	32. Sailing Away

_**Lily's POV**_

By morning the tears are miraculously gone, although the memories are stained across my mind as of yet. I've decided that I need to at least try being a real leader.

I allowed myself an hour of sleep before noon, when I go to wake Annabeth and Percy so we can head for the coast.

But first I wake the Pegasus, taking our 'boat in a suitcase' from Blackjack's supply pouch, and repositioning it in Venus'.

_It's my quest_. I've convinced myself.

"Guys, we should go." I declare, rather loudly, both of them waking at the first word. Annabeth smiles when she sees my face.

"You're doing better. Thank the gods." She says, picking herself up off of the ground.

"You are," Percy agrees as he stretches, picking himself up, and heading over to Blackjack right away.

"We make no stops, or detours, or changes of route. Just head for Rachel's family's club." I say, a bit coldly. I don't mean for it to come out that way, but all I can really think about is what happened yesterday. My hostility came purely off of that. My mom is gone.

But right now, I can't dwell on it. I just…_can't_.

Both of them nod, tying their bags onto their respective Pegasus.

I hop onto Venus, both of them following suit, and then we go.

We're officially back where I strayed yesterday, on the merge onto Church Street, forty minutes later.

"I'm hungry," Percy complains, behind Annabeth and I.

"You're always hungry, Seaweed Brain." She jokes, as we continue down the street.

The smell of the ocean intensifies as we turn left onto North Market Street.

We walk straight until we hit Concord Street, twenty minutes later, turning right, and heading further south.

"I love the smell of salt-water," I murmur to myself as we get closer and closer to the club.

And finally, we arrive, hopping off the Pegasus.

As mentioned previously, I've never been anywhere outside of California. A Yacht Club can be considered something new. For starters its relatively large, although it would be hard to tell from the ocean I'm sure. The glass windows let us see straight through it, at the men and women at the bar, at the people lying on the sand just before the docks, at the boats themselves both tied to land and free floating close to the shore.

Then I spot it, the perfect spot for us to set sail from, a small speck in the distance, at the very edge of the Club perimeter that would be hard for mortals to notice from inside, staring directly out to the sea.

"So what now? Just tell them we know the Dares, then head out to launch?" I ask, entering first through the fairly heavy, probably bullet-proof glass doors lined with what looks like gold.

"I've got this," Annabeth smiles as she enters, making her way over to a tall man in a black suit, at the bar, leaving Percy and I to stand awkwardly at the doorway.

They talk for a few minutes before she comes back over to us, winking.

"Come on guys, our private port is right this way!" She exclaims, leading us out through the back doors to the spot I'd seen from the opposite side.

"Has Piper taught you charmspeak or something, Wise Girl?" Percy grins as we reach the spot.

"Rachel's family owns this place remember? All I did was casually remind her father that we were friends," She says coyly. We wait there while Venus, Blackjack, and Short-stack come around the far side of the building and meet us at the dock. Then I take the suitcase out from Venus' pouch, and we all untie our personal belongings.

Percy says nothing about me having moved the boat.

"Alright guys, this is where we leave you. Thanks for all your help," Percy tells the Pegasus, rubbing Blackjack's head.

"Yeah, thanks." Annabeth and I say together, and we all watch as they fly off in the same V-formation they had come in.

I can't help but think Venus will return, but I say nothing.

"Alright, how does this thing work?" I wonder aloud, kneeling on the dock, and dipping a hand into the water, admiring it.

"It's always more beautiful up close, huh." Percy watches me. I nod. Annabeth laughs beside us.

"Press the button," She pushes, and I do, backing up as the suitcase begins to grow, and I drop it into the water.

The boat, or I should say, ship, grows right before our eyes, the masts even adjusting themselves.

"Whoa," The three of us say, our jaws dropping as we stare up at the humungous thing, a minute later. I'm the first to regain my composure.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going," I tell them, walking over to the land bridge and boarding.

They follow my lead, and for a long while we just stand at the bow, staring out onto the water.

"This brings back so many memories," Annabeth grins, leaning against the railing, slight wind blowing her hair back. Percy nods, leaning over just a bit to kiss her cheek.

"The Seven were a mighty crew, weren't they?" He replies.

"We were the best," She says. I cut in.

"Sorry to break up the reminiscing, but we should really be going now."

"She's right, let's stop acting as if we're old, Percy, and get to work." Annabeth agrees with me, backing away from the railing and grabbing our bags off of the floor, bringing them with her to where I assume our cabins would be.

Percy only stands there smiling at me, almost to the point I become uncomfortable.

"What?"

"You don't need me to start this ship, Lily. Don't you feel that?" He motions around at, well, everything, but I have to admit he's right. I do feel something, in my mind and body.

It must be a power of Poseidon's children, I assume.

_Alright, how's about we start the engines, since there's only light wind._ I think, listening as a humming comes to life. Percy gives me a thumbs up.

"Now you've got it," He says.

_Let's get moving then,_ I command the ship again, and it starts to drift from the dock, into the ocean.

"I'm doing it! The ship, it's listening to my command," I shout happily, as Annabeth rejoins us on the deck.

"I see Percy's introduced you to another ability," She decides, returning to her spot at the railing. I say nothing, only watching as the club gets smaller and smaller behind us.

"We're on our way to Greece," I say finally.

"Now it's just a matter of finding the right isla-" Annabeth begins, but I cut her off.

"I thought we were just going to head to Athens anyway? Since that's the last place she rose," I ask her, joining her at the railing.

"Yes, but the more I think about it the more I think that Gaea is trying to mislead us with that information. Confuse us,"

"Oh," Is all I say before our conversation transitions into silence again, my mood shifting immediately, as we head for the archipelago.

And possibly as I head for my death…


	33. Island Information

_**Lily's POV**_

I find relative rest first, five hours after we set sail, and half an hour after I take a much needed shower, in one of the three small cabins, on the top bunk of a bunk bed. It's restless, and dreamless, and I wake less than an hour later.

When I do wake up, I decide its best to get it all out now, while I'm alone.

"I can't do this. I don't know who I think I'm kidding," I admit, taking deep breaths with my eyes still closed. Thankfully, the darkness behind my eyelids stays dark, and does not take me back to my memories.

"Venus, why did Hera send you for me, why?" I ask, fiddling with my iPod, being careful not to press play.

I stop talking to myself abruptly, when I hear the footsteps approach the room. And then I toss my iPod to the other side of the bed, sprawling myself out as if I was asleep. I listen for a few seconds more before I hear the door open. My breathing hitches on instinct, but whoever it is doesn't notice.

"Lily?" It's Annabeth, "We figured out where we need to be," I rustle around a bit, for effect, then open my eyes groggily.

"Good, you're up." She smiles as I 'stretch' and sit up, reaching for my iPod.

"We figured out which island in Greece we're headed for." She explains, waiting until I get down from the top bunk until she leads the way out of the room, to our kitchen and dining space. Percy sits waiting, staring out into the ocean, so he doesn't notice us coming, until we sit near him.

"Good morning, Lily." I look back outside of the picturesque windows. It's still dark.

"But-"

"It's just past midnight." He says quickly. I nod, as I turn to face Annabeth in anticipation. She clears her throat.

"Sostis Island, Greece. That's where we need to be. My mother sent me a dream. It was us, on the island. From the second I saw it, I knew where it was from its unique geography apart from the other islands of Greece." She says.

"This is wonderful, finally everything seems to be falling into place." I grin. I think I see Annabeth and Percy exchange a glance when I turn back towards the sea, but say nothing.

"So what now? Are we already heading the right way, do we need to change course or something?" I wonder aloud, absently clasping my hands around my nonexistent iPod. I'd left it in my room.

"No, while you were asleep Percy helped steer the ship onto a new course." Annabeth says. I nod.

"So that's it, smooth sailing from here? We don't have to deal with more monsters, or whatever?" I continue, just as the floor of the boat shifts. We all seem to shake it off, likely just a storm coming, minor turbulence.

"I wouldn't say that," She pauses, "Anything could happen in the next week."

"Well, I think we'll be fine," I smile, faltering to stand when my mind goes back to my mother's face. I take a deep breath, blinking.

"I'm going to head back to my cabin. I'm pretty tired," I tell them, the realization hitting me that I likely won't be able to find sleep for the rest of this quest. I want to find out more about this island. The geography, climate, anything that might help me prepare for this. I'm not as ready as I'd like to be. I can only handle myself when fighting a few small monsters here and there, and that isn't enough to take on Gaea. I know she must be angry she hasn't already killed me, thanks to Percy and Annabeth.

Two minutes later I'm back in my cabin, rummaging through my purse for the drachmas I know are scattered about inside.

"Yes!" I whisper to myself when I take the small golden coin out.

"Alright, now I need to create a rainbow," I turn my bag inside out, all of the contents falling out. A tube of chap-stick, a few more drachmas, my bag of Ambrosia and Nectar, and two camp shirts folded in with two pairs of jeans. Finally, the prism comes out, tumbling onto the floor where it catches the light of the port hole on the opposite wall.

A rainbow shines out, bouncing off the walls.

Annabeth had suggested that we all bring prisms, should we need to send a message without a natural rainbow, or water and direct sunlight.

"Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." I say, watching the rainbow glisten and listening for what sounds like the jingling of bells.

"Show me Chiron," I say, the message expanding until I see the wall of the Big House before me.

"Chiron?" I ask, waiting until he comes into view, in his wheel-chair form.

"Lily, it's wonderful to see you. How is the quest going?" He greets, smiling. I smile back.

"Everything's going well, I wanted to ask if you could research something for me." I explain. He chuckles.

"Ah, well I can redirect you to Athena's Cabin in that matter, I'm sure they'll be of greater assistance," He tells me. I hold back the urge to face-palm. He's right, I should've just asked for Athena's Cabin, instead of interrupting Chiron.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're right. It would be great if you could redirect me to them, thanks." I say, watching as he mumbles something I can't exactly hear, and the message blurs. Soon enough, I'm facing Malcolm, Annabeth's brother.

"Hey Lily," He grins. I smile.

"Hi Malcolm. I wanted to see if you could research some information on Sostis Island in Greece. Anything and everything, I just want us to be prepared for it." I say. He nods.

"Sure, can I get back to you in a few hours? I just need to finish sorting out some scrolls in our library, I want to make sure everything is in order, we're planning on beginning a lending service, like a real library. So campers can check out scrolls or books, or other resources for quests and other stuff,"

"Yeah, that's perfect. Take all the time you need. Thank you so much!" I assure him, waving goodbye as I shut off the connection.

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere," I sigh, staring forward at the rainbow.


	34. When the Sea Strikes Back

_**Annabeth's POV**_

_Something's not right_, I think, as I stare down at the screen of my phone.

_Hurricanes roaring about the shores of Greece, seemingly out of nowhere, natural disaster reporters claim…_

"Kym's visiting us," I mutter, as I make my way over to the railing on the deck. Abnormally strong wind for this time of the year blows the hair out of my eyes. The water is churning below us.

"We still have another three or four days before we reach Greece, how is this possible!" I exclaim, grabbing hold of the railing as the entire boat jolts.

"Wise Girl, what's going on?" Percy comes up beside me, nearly falling back when the boat shakes again.

"I don't know, this has Kymopoleia written all over it. But she doesn't have this kind of reach. She can't possibly be causing damage all over the ocean at one time," I frown.

"And, why is she targeting Greece like she's trying to keep us from arriving? She promised not to side with Gaea in her deal with Jason," I continue, as Percy slides an arm around my waist.

"Calm down. We'll be fine. I'm sure there's another, more likely reason behind all this." He attempts to comfort me, as the boat sways to one side, both of us gripping the railing so hard our knuckles turn white.

"I think this is Kym," I grimace.

"I can reason with her," Percy assures me, leaning over the side. For a moment the wind steadies, and just before Percy hops over the edge, we hear the voice.

"I'm afraid you have the wrong being in mind, young heroes." The wind picks up momentarily with the sound of a deep cackle.

"Oceanus? That's not possible!" I shout, a hand reaching for the dagger I know well will do nothing against the Titan.

"Oh it is, the Earth Mother has called on my help, and I intend to keep my promises. I will finally have my realm back!" He booms. The water churns violently, shaking the boat.

"What have you done to my father?!" Percy shouts angrily, glaring over the edge. Oceanus laughs.

"Nothing yet, Great Nephew Perseus Jackson. I have only been called upon recently, your father has yet to notice my absence from the depths of the ocean."

With that the conversation is over, and the boat begins to vibrate.

"He's too powerful, I can't stop it. We need to brace for cover, now!" Percy shouts at me, both of us running for the door to the inside of the boat. The door swings open just before we reach it.

"Come on, I have a plan! We need to get to the life boats now!" Lily shouts, grabbing our hands and pulling us in.

"You heard us?" Percy asks as we rush for the back of the boat. She merely nods.

The shaking just gets worse, until finally we reach the life boats.

"We need to jump! When this boat sinks, it'll bring us with it!" Lily yells, untying a boat and tossing it off the edge, about to jump herself when we hear the sound of metal tearing.

"You will not get away so easily!" Oceanus shouts, the boat already beginning to sink.

We all grab hold of the railing as the boat tips.

Blasts of water shoot up around the boat.

"He's trying to trap us!" I yell, barely holding on. In less than a minute, the boat drops a foot.

"We need to jump, now!" Lily shouts, pushing herself up to the edge of the railing.

Percy and I do the same.

"On go," I tell them, wrapping one arm around Percy, "Ready…Set…"

"Go!" I yell, and we let go, falling off the edge, the water rushing up to meet us…

_**Percy's POV**_

We hit the water and a bubble of air encapsulates the three of us, just as the ship sinks completely, sending a burst of energy at us, flinging us back another hundred or so feet from the wreckage.

Finally the water calms, as the wreckage bursts into flames.

"You guys ok?" I ask Annabeth and Lily, both breathing heavily as they lay against the sides of the bubble. The nod.

"What did we lose?"

"Everything other than whatever we already had with us." Lily explains.

"At least we're alive. Did the boat survive?" Annabeth frowns, glancing up around us. I could see wood, and metal, and…

"There! One of um' survived!" I shouted, pointing up at the small row boat, floating on the surface.

"Great, I mean, it might take an extra month to reach Greece, but…it's a boat, so," Lily frowns bitterly. Our bubble rises slowly, popping when it breaks the surface of the water.

We float there for a few seconds before swimming over to the row boat.

"Don't worry Lily. We'll find a way to get there on time." I assure her as I lift myself into the boat, waiting for a second while it steadies, before pulling both Annabeth and Lily up.

Annabeth and I sit on one bench, Lily on the other.

"Are there oars?" Lily asks, leaning forward to reach under her bench with her hand. She pulls out a small remote.

"What's this?" She hands it to me, and I have to stare at it a whole thirty seconds before I understand the inscription below the big red button, in Greek.

"In case of emergencies. –Nyssa."

Well, this counts as an emergency, right? So I click the button.

Nothing happens.

I click it again, and again and again.

"Come on! It doesn't w-" I pause, as the wooden boat shifts, and begins to grow around us.

The boat widens, the walls growing around us until we are surrounded by them, a sunroof two feet above us.

I hear the propeller before I see it, in a window behind Lily, spinning slowly at first, but then speeding up, pushing us forward.

Annabeth and I stand, and move to the middle of the boat, as our bench is pushed back, a steering wheel popping up in front of it, the window behind that widening until the entire wall is a glass window.

"It's a mini-ship!" Lily exclaims, extending her arms out to touch either side of the boat.

"It's perfect," I marvel, sitting back down in front of the wheel.

"Nyssa thought of everything," Annabeth smiles, taking a seat next to Lily.

"Maybe it'll take a little less than a month to get to Sostis Island…"


	35. The God of War, What a Charmer

_**Lily's POV**_

The next day and a half goes by pretty uneventfully. Just a series of taking turns resting, and some small-talk regarding the battle coming soon. We haven't heard from Oceanus, so I assume he believes he killed us. No dreams, no monsters.

Yeah, uneventful.

It's my watch right now, the earliest one, since last night my watch started at four AM. Annabeth and Percy are sleeping, sitting up, leaning against their respective sides of the boat, on the back bench.

I sit, watching the moon, with my iPod at my side, one earbud in, listening to calming smooth jazz. The oval of mist opens up ahead of me, blocking out the moon. Jason's face, along with two other's I don't recognize, appear.

"Hey, Lily." He greets.

"Whoa, that's Percy's sister? If I wasn't with Calypso I'd totally think she was hot," The boy sitting on Jason's left says, earning him a swift slap to the head by the girl on Jason's right.

"Shut up, Leo…" She pauses, looking back at me, "Nice to meet you Lily, I'm Piper." She waves. I smile.

"You too, and I guess, thank you Leo?" I ask, trying not to blush at his comment.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" I ask, motioning behind me at my sleeping quest-mates.

"We found Ares' spear. He framed a demigod that was 'extremely disrespectful', for his own personal fun. But of course he had it this whole time. We were seconds away from a war between the gods. Which would've obviously meant if Gaea rose, we'd have no chance…" Jason trails off.

"That's gre-"

"We also wanted to warn you about something." He said, nudging Piper. Jason and Leo put what looks like earplugs, into their ears.

"Sorry Lily," She says, "But I know you must be feeling so tired. It's late, and you can barely stay awake."

My head begins to lull off to the side. I didn't realize how late it was. I need sleep. My eyelids betray me, beginning to close.

"It's ok, let yourself fall into a deep sleep. You need it, you crave it. You won't wake up again for hours. Sleep, Lily. Sleep, peacefully and soundly."

With that, I drift off…

_**Percy's POV**_

I wake up the moment I hear Jason calling me.

"Huh?"

"Percy, it's me Jason. I called as soon as I got Annabeth's text." Jason says. I sit up, rubbing my eyes. When I open them again, I realize Lily slumped over in the front seat, where she was keeping watch.

"Thanks, Piper." I tell her, as I wake Annabeth. She wakes with a start, but realizes almost immediately that it's me.

"They called." She whispers, and I back up so she can get up herself.

"You found the spear." Annabeth smiles.

"Ares was messing with us all."

"No surprise there," I glare at the ground, my fists clenched. He does these things, even though he understands the consequences.

"But we also wanted to warn you. Oceanus isn't done with you. There's a reason he left you alive. When we went to meet the gods, I overheard Poseidon talking to my father. Oceanus returned to the depths of the ocean, but he is not resting. Poseidon thinks he is plotting something else. A trap at the shore of the island you're heading for. Gaea wants you alive. _He went easy on you. He was only a distraction_. When we finally went in, your dad told me to tell you that he wishes you luck," Jason finishes. I glance over at Annabeth.

"It makes sense. It was so close, but yet, we really had every opportunity to escape the boat before it sunk." Annabeth frowns. I turn back to Jason.

"Thanks for the update. Now Annabeth and I want to run something by you. We know you just got off your quest. But we need you here."

"Why, what's going on?" Leo asks, leaning closer to the message portal.

"We don't think Lily's ready for this, Gaea almost killed her a few days ago. We need you guys to keep her from the island, so Percy and I can take down Porphyrion." Annabeth explains, reaching for my hand.

"And you're thinking that when Gaea's moment to rise is over, she'll go back to sleep. Because she won't have the blood of two demigods," Piper finishes. I smile.

"Exactly, I just don't want her to get hurt. She just won't be able to take it," I say. There's a minute of silence.

"Yeah, we'll be there. When?" Jason decides.

"We should be at the island in two more days, at most."

"Alright, see you then. Can't wait to check out the boat Nyssa made you," Leo grins, shutting off the connection.

I turn to Annabeth.

"Tell me we're doing the right thing,"

"Percy, your fatal flaw is loyalty. You want to save Lily, I get that. But you know I can't say whether this is the right choice, because this was her quest, not ours. Whatever happens, happens." She tells me, squeezing my hand.

"If we go down for this, at least we'll go down together…"

"I hope it doesn't come to that, Seaweed Brain."

She leans in, and I meet her in a kiss. We don't pull away from each other for another minute.

"I love you, Annabeth Chase." I smile. She lays her head on my shoulder.

"I love you too, Percy Jackson."


	36. Rocky Shores

_**Lily's POV**_

This is it, the home stretch. We are officially one more day from Sostis Island. We've been preparing nonstop since yesterday morning. We're all freshened up, from the bathroom extension of our boat, we'd found out about yesterday. Annabeth's been sharpening our daggers and weaponry. Percy's been going over his personal plan of attack for when we hit the shores. I have been staying close to the windows, leaving them open so I could practice my water technique.

"The weather's been great this afternoon." I say, trying desperately to make small talk. For the last few hours I've been trying to keep a singular conversation going, because even though we're all ready for it, I don't want to think about the fight until it actually begins.

"Yeah," Percy replies, focusing more on the sea outside of the window more on me. Silence.

"And the waters have been calm…It's a beautiful day," I try again.

"Uh-huh," Annabeth mumbles, scraping her dagger across the sharpener, back and forth, back and forth.

_How about you, Venus? Wanna chat?_

No response.

"You guys wanna listen to music? Music could be fun," I continue.

"Sure, what genres do you have?" Annabeth pipes up at last. I smile, pulling out my iPod. Pressing Play twice allows you to play music out loud on the speaker, without having to put in headphones.

"Hmmm, here. Just play whatever you like," I hand her the iPod. She scrolls for a while, and finally presses play.

My Instrumentals Only playlist.

So now we're virtually back to silence…Ugh.

_I see you've yet to figure it out. _She startles me, like normal.

_Venus?_

_They're hiding something from you, Lily. _She starts.

_Well look at that. The Pegasus that lies to me about why she came to watch me, claims that the two people I've known since I first came to camp are liars._

_Right, I am a Pegasus. Percy may not realize it, but he's been poor at keeping his thoughts private. _Talking in riddles has always been her favorite thing to do.

_You've been eavesdropping on his thoughts? I hope you know that's a bit creepy._

_I told you from the start I was here to help._

_I know what you told me. I know that Hera's the only one who thinks I can do anything for myself. But that does not mean I'm going to stop trusting Percy and Annabeth for her. All they've ever done is support me._

_Their support is going to jeopardize your quest._

_Whatever, Venus. Goodbye. _And I tune her out.

I make the mistake of sighing out loud. Both of them turn to me.

"You alright?" Percy asks.

"Now you guys want to talk?" I reply harshly, turning away from their stares. They say nothing, though I'm sure they're just holding back. I hadn't meant to be rude, Venus brought that up.

I look out of the window. The shore…

"Guys, look!" I shout, pointing out towards the sliver of land in the distance. Annabeth's face lights up.

"That's it, Sostis Island. It looks about-"

"Five hours, seven minutes, and thirty-three seconds directly north at 37° North, 20° East." I blurt out, sheepishly clasping a hand to my mouth. Percy can't seem to hold back his laughter.

"Wow," He pauses, laughing some more, "I was about to say that same thing, but you beat me to it!"

"Whatever," I grumble, suddenly defensive. Annabeth positions herself between us.

"Chill out guys," She grins.

For two or three hours we finally hang out for the first time in the last two days. We put on music with lyrics, open all the windows and the sunroof so we can blast it. We talk about random things, we play made-up games.

It's wonderful…

But then everything becomes silent, again, uncomfortable even. As the sliver turns into an island, they stop talking. Annabeth turns off the music and hands back my iPod. Percy returns to his staring, out into the ocean, towards the growing island.

"Oceanus could be planning to strike any minute now," I whisper, reaching up to shut the sunroof half way. None of them say anything.

"We were having so much fun, guys. Why the cold shoulder all of a sudden," I wonder aloud.

"_They're hiding something from you, Lily…"_

"Guys, tell me Venus was wrong." I blurt out, finally earning their attention.

"What?" Annabeth questions, shifting.

"Venus, my Pegasus. She and I were speaking earlier. She thinks you two are-"

"Hey, you ordered a Super-Sized McShizzle?!" Leo's voice comes from above, all of us looking up to the sunroof, where Leo, Piper, and Jason hover above.

"How are you guys here?!" I shout, watching as they float out of view, and up to the glass door on the side of our mini-boat. Annabeth lets them in.

"We went back to Camp first, to get these," He pauses to take off and show off his bat-wings. "I knew I couldn't fly all three of us here the entire way. Then, I just harnessed the winds to guide us here,"

"But why?" I ask, but as soon as I say it I know exactly why.

Percy and Annabeth asked them to be here, now, the moment we approached the shore.

"You don't trust me. None of you do."

"Lily it's not like that," Percy tries, but I turn away.

"Yes it is, you can't stop me from going on my own quest. _My quest!_ I thought you understood that," My voice rises. I feel someone's hand on my arm, but I pull away.

The island is getting closer.

"We just want to keep you alive," Annabeth continues.

"Lily, don't fight us." Piper speaks up. I relax at her words, but the anger doesn't fade.

"Jason, we're almost there." I hear Percy whisper behind me, and then I feel Jason grab my arms. I don't pull away.

"Let go of me!" I shout, but Jason doesn't move.

"Lily, its ok, just calm down." Piper says again, soothing me.

I look out the window again, the shore is probably a hundred feet away now.

"Please…" I beg this time. Leo stands in front of me, blocking my view out to the island.

"Don't worry, at least this way you'll get to hang out with the most awesome guy you'll ever meet!" He smiles, casually taking a seat on the first bench.

The boat stops, and I turn to the door, where Annabeth and Percy are collecting their things.

"No, how could you guys do this?" I whimper, my anger starting up a futile struggle against Jason again. Piper walks over to stand next to Jason, placing an arm on my shoulder.

"Lily, don't fight us. Just let Jason hold you back." She says. I watch the door behind her open and shut.

"No…"

And the boat starts shaking ferociously; when we hit the floor I glance outside to see the shore erupting.


	37. And So it Begins

_**Lily's POV**_

The boat is thrown into the shore, and I go flying through the front glass window, landing on the hot sand with a sickening thud. My left leg feels like lead.

_Oceanus' shoreline trap…_

I turn my head slightly, still a bit dizzy.

"Jason, Piper, Leo! Percy, Annabeth?" I yell as loud as I can, watching as a figure comes running my way. Leo.

"Lily? Oh thank the gods," He shouts, grabbing my hands to help me up. I nearly scream when I finally get on my feet, but I bite my lip.

"Can you walk?" He asks me, sliding an arm around my waist for support.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I guess…Where is everyone else? Are you hurt?" He smiles as we make our way across the shoreline dogging land as it spurts up into the sky by the water's force.

"I got thrown like you, but it's nothing I can't take." I look up at him for the first time, and notice the huge gash in his forehead.

"We've got to find-Watch out!" He shouts, throwing us both further inland, just as a mine blows up before us.

"Did you just _sense _that land mine?!" I ask him, as I try to pick myself up, the pain slightly more bearable now.

"Yeah, it's one of the awesome qualities of being Leo Valdez. I have to say, it was poorly built. Even if we had been caught in it, it wouldn't have done more than minor burns. Although, that doesn't much faze me either," He grins, helping me to my feet again.

We keep running until we reach the wreckage of the boat, and Piper and Jason.

"Your both ok, thank goodness!" Piper shouts, the moment she sees us.

"Where are Percy and Annabeth?" I ask, letting go of Leo and making my way closer, calling attention to my probably broken leg. Her breathing hitches when she notices.

"Lily. I'm so sor-" She begins, but I cut her off.

"I just want to know where they are. I'm going to finish this quest, even if it _kills_ me." I say shortly, avoiding Jason's eyes. Instead I glance back at Leo, who I have less hostility towards, at this point. He hasn't completely betrayed my trust, he merely played along with his friends.

"They've got to be further inland, looking for Porphyrion…They got out before Oceanus began attacking us." Jason pauses, "Look, Lily. We're not going to stop you this time…Just be careful, the island has-"

"A cliff on its opposite side, I know. I did my research. _I was ready_." I nearly shout, reaching into my pocket for my iPod. I press play as I pull it out, watching it grow, before beginning to run further into the island, leaving the three of them there.

The moment I cross into the shade of dense tree foliage, I'm met by monsters.

_Stymphalian birds._ My mind tells me.

"Bring it on," I mutter, my sword out in front of me. The birds swarm, but as each one swoops in for the kill, I swipe forward, feathers and golden ichor flying everywhere. Only one manages to take a bite out of my thigh before I destroy it.

But they aren't the only ones in the forest, as it seems.

Basilisks.

The group, gone in a matter of minutes. And soon I'm on my way. Gaea has left the forest relatively easy to pass, because she knows that the real challenge is ahead. Porphyrion. King of the Giants.

"Why didn't you trust me," I mumble to myself, as I limp through the forest.

_Need a ride?_

I stop, turning to face her. Venus, standing between two huge Oaks. I hadn't even heard her coming.

"You came, why?" I ask her, stepping forward to pet her.

_You will miss the entire battle should you walk the entire length of the island._

"Thank you Venus. But be honest with me. Did Hera send you?"

_No. I came because you are a friend. I am meant to help you arrive at the battlefield._

"Alright then, let's go." I smile, taking a minute to hop on her back, before she take off, rising above the trees.

_Venus, I need to apologize. You were right. Percy and Annabeth were lying to me…_

_The Fates are in control._

"And I have to just let whatever happens, happen."

We fly in silence for another ten minutes before I finally see a clearing in the trees. The end of the island. I can make out one figure, as we land.

_Good luck. _I hop off of Venus, and run straight into the clearing.

The first thing I see is Annabeth, being kicked like a ragdoll, by the giant. I don't see where she lands, nor do I think I want to.

My first instinct is to run, but I refuse to, and so I go further, ignoring the voice inside my head screaming at me. Ignoring the pictures of my mother, and the thoughts that I'll be killed in a moment's notice. Then…

"Lily!" I hear him yell, my neck whipping in the direction of the voice. Percy.

I've distracted him.

"No, watch out!" I yell, but I'm already too late. The hand is there well before I've run halfway into the clearing.

It picks him up, shaking until his eyes close, and then it starts to squeeze.

The anger wells up inside me.

"Puny girl!" The giant notices me, and I stand no chance. He doesn't even have to charge for me to be swept off my feet. One step shakes the entire clearing.

His cackle makes me feel as if I've already lost.


	38. Her Wrath

_**Lily's POV**_

Lying there on the ground, blood pouring from my thigh, dirt covering most of my face, I realized this was not the time to cry and whine, and be a child. The giant has my brother in the palm of his hand, my mother is dead and probably being unfairly judged by the King of the Underworld right now. I'm not even sure what happened to Annabeth in the chaos. All I've done all this time is give up and wait for someone else to save me…

_Now is not the time._ I tell myself again.

Forcing myself to my feet, I realize how angry I really am at all of this, at all of _them._ My mom lied to me for half of my life. I should've known it in retrospect. The Greek language lessons. The textbooks about mythology. Really I just thought she had her own affliction with it all.

And then she sent me away, and never gave me the chance to say a proper goodbye before she was murdered. My half-brother and Annabeth kept their grand scheme from me for when we first arrived in Greece, leaving me in the dust. It's clear Jason, and even Nico still see me as a scared little girl, with no ability to help myself. I'm just a joke to everyone, regardless of whether its family or friends. I wouldn't be surprised if my father was watching me right now with a frown on his face, despite having never even acknowledged me. According to Percy, I should've been claimed years ago. But instead I was thrown into all of this insanity at random, and now the world's fate lies with me? So fair, really it is. I can see Artemis now, wishing she'd never sent me her letter to join the Hunters. Apollo, wishing he'd never healed me. Hermes, regretting not adding a surprise bomb to Hades' message for me.

I'm limping forward, but I can feel the strength of the ocean below us pulsing through my veins. This isn't over. I will not live up to the failing standard they've all set for me. All around me, pebbles begin to vibrate. But I barely realize what I'm doing until the ground splits beneath me, mid step.

"Put my brother down." I command, the ground just barely holding together under me while I speak. The giant just laughs, until the crack reaches him.

"I said, put him _down!_" I yell now, half running, half limping forward to catch Percy when he falls, the ground shaking harder than ever. It's become a full-grown earthquake, the plates beneath me smashing against each other, sending off seismic waves everywhere. The split has reached the edge of the cliff, and has begun to expand. Soon I can see the crystal clear blue waves about a thousand feet down. And I'm still about a hundred feet from the edge myself.

The giant isn't laughing anymore, losing his grip just long enough to send Percy's unconscious-self falling to the ground. I stop running almost too late, just barely catching Percy, and falling to my knees. Of course, with the rift forming beneath us, this probably isn't the best place to rest.

I don't know how to stop the quake, and the giant is angry now. Before I get up to face it again, I hear a voice yelling from the ruins to my right. It's Annabeth. A battered and bruised Annabeth.

"Lily, go! I've got Percy, just go!" She yells. To me that almost sounds like she wants me to retreat. Which I am certainly not going to do now.

Leaving Percy there, I turn to face the giant again, the ground becoming stable only long enough for me to straighten and withdraw my iPod.

"Stupid demigod! An earthquake cannot kill a giant!" He bellows, nearly losing his balance again.

_I need to get him down there…_ I think to myself, glancing over to the rift that continues to expand revealing more and more of the ocean below us. If I can get him to fall through the rift, he'll hit the ocean, than Dad can take care of whatever's left.

Behind me, I hear Annabeth's uneven breathing, and her footsteps. She's getting Percy out of the way, just like she promised.

"Annabeth, you need to find cover!" I shout, to which I hear a gibberish like reply that I guess I'll have to take as an agreement.

I'm surprised the giant hasn't charged me yet, until I realize he's no longer in my sight. For a giant he sure is sneaky.

Energy seeps off of me in waves, the earthquake following my will, getting stronger every time I think of Percy unconscious, and Annabeth bleeding.

I shut my eyes, listening to what the ground tells me about where the giant is. Clicking 'play' with my eyes still shut, I turn full circle, and then I swing.

My blade connects with the giant's foot, mid step. He was a hair from stepping on me and crushing me. He screams, and I open my eyes to see the small gash with golden ichor pouring from it. But I know it's not enough. I rush forward, swinging at its other foot, making sure I swing hard enough to make him face me again. He spins so fast, even I'm knocked to the ground, my impact creating another rift in the ground to my left…And it also happens to knock the air out of my lungs.

Blood is still seeping from my side, and quite frankly I'm beginning to actually get dizzy. The earthquake has stolen most of my energy, not to mention it's probably off the Richter Scale, and still goes strong.

I guess Apollo's gift was finally wearing off, and it serves me right for not learning to train properly when I had the chance.

But I can make up for it. Just before the giant's fist slams into me, I roll to the side, pushing myself to stand. My legs are barely supporting my weight, but I force them to move and run to the edge regardless.

Just as I expect, the giant follows me, both of us shaking hard in our swift movements. I can hear Annabeth screaming somewhere behind us, but I can't make out the words. I know I'm about to do something really stupid, but if it's the only way I'll get the giant off the edge, then it's worth it.

Praying to my dad that he won't let me die…

I jump…

_**To Be Continued…**_


	39. Losing Herself

_**Nearly Twelve Hours Later…**_

I wake up to a throbbing headache and a starry night. But I have absolutely no idea how I ended up here. All I remember is a short fall, then…nothing. I'm not even sure where I am.

I lay there for a moment before trying to sit up, but I can barely manage moving my arms.

"Hello?" I ask aloud, unsure of whether I want a reply. I hear shuffling, and I see a blonde haired girl kneel next to me. Her grey eyes look me over carefully, almost fearfully.

"Lily, oh my gods, you're awake? You've been out for almost a day, I didn't know what to think…Are you in pain?" She asks, her eyes worried and sad. I don't know whether I should be afraid or relieved. This girl knows my name. I don't know how, but she does. She must know how I got here. Scratches cover her face, and I realize maybe she was in the same situation I was. Or maybe this is just some trick, and she's deceiving me with her mock sympathy.

"Who are you?" I demand, although it comes off as a statement. My voice is not strong; from the moment I opened my eyes and called for help, my throat stung.

"Lily…it's me. Annabeth?" She replies, her voice rising. But I don't know an Annabeth. And somehow she knows me? She turns away from me for a moment, and I tilt my neck far enough to see her glance nervously at a boy, unconscious near us. When she turns back to me I can see that she's disturbed, in ways I can't even explain.

"Lily, please tell me you remember me. And Percy, your half-brother?" She asks again, her voice uneasy. I still don't understand. I'm an only-child, if this Annabeth really knew me, she'd know that much. It's always only been my mom and me, and my crazy adventures. But yet, I still feel a pang of empathy for her. She seems so scared and alone, even though I'm the one on the ground, no feeling in my body.

"I'm sorry. I don't know you…Annabeth. And I don't have any siblings. I never have." I explain, in my own way trying to console her. Obviously, I'm not the one suffering here. She's in denial for some reason, maybe because of the boy lying near us, I'm sure of it. I still don't know how she figured out who I am, but I know I've never met her before. Again, she turns away from me, in an attempt to hide the tears I see falling.

Slowly but surely, I begin to feel my body again, the numbness dissipating while I listen to Annabeth speak to herself in a hushed tone.

After another minute of just lying there, I feel like I'm able to at least sit up. I do manage to, but only after a wave of nausea. I don't know what else to do other than to place one hand on Annabeth's shoulder to show some sort of compassion. It's obvious now that she had nothing to do with my memory loss, or ending up on what looks like an island, struck by some kind of earthquake.

She doesn't turn back to me, instead focusing her gaze on the boy, still unconscious, near us.

His hand moves slightly, and I take that to mean he must be waking soon. If I'd been out a day, I wonder how long he's been lying there.

"…Annabeth…?" I hear him mumble, shifting his body over, but still not opening his eyes. She slides herself forward, and I let my hand fall from her shoulder.

"Percy…We-we have a bit of a problem…" She whispers, though I can still hear her. His eyes open only slightly, revealing a sliver of sea-foam green color. I try to ignore the fact that his eyes are the same color as mine, much like his hair.

I don't have a brother, I can't let Annabeth's words get to me. Unlike me, Percy is able to push himself into a sitting position after a few seconds, rubbing his eyes like he's only woken from a nap. The tourniquet around his left leg begs to differ.

"How long was I out?" He asks her, his voice just as uneven as mine. She just shakes her head, motioning behind her, at me. Percy looks my way, his eyes brightening instantly. I guess that he somehow knows who I am too, like Annabeth, even though I've never met either of them.

"Lily, you saved us all." He says, frowning when he realizes that I'm not all connected to this conversation.

"Lily, what's wrong?" He asks me, but I'm already passed talking in riddles. I want the truth.

"Ok, this has to stop. How do you both know my name? And…how did I even get here?" I demand.

Percy's eyes widen, worry taking his expression, and for whatever reason I feel a tinge of guilt for yelling. But I refuse to lose his gaze.

"Well?" I ask again, this time trying not to raise my voice too much. He glances at Annabeth and a silent conversation seems to pass between them.

"I'm sorry Lily. I promise we'll get you home." Percy says, like that answers my question. After a minute of silence, Annabeth stands, and pulls Percy up with her. The way they look at me, scares me.

It's like their eyes pierce my soul. And I don't know what kind of person they see.

"Please just tell me where I am…" I plead with them, my vision becoming blurred as I try to pick myself up. Percy offers his hand, and reluctantly I take it. He pulls me up, and almost as soon as he lets go of me, everything goes dark…

_**Percy's POV**_

"Lily!" I shout, as she collapses in front of me.

Luckily, Annabeth is there, to catch her before she falls.

"What're we going to do?" I ask her, as I take Lily into my arms. She glances around once, before staring me in the eyes, confusion clouding them.

"I…I don't know. We have no way back to Camp. The others are gone. We have no boat, nothing." She stutters momentarily. I step closer, and her eyes light up.

"Wait, I have an idea…"


	40. Flicker

_**Percy's POV**_

"Athens is that way," Annabeth smiles, pointing south, toward a land bridge in the distance. "If we can get there, we can contact Camp…Chiron can send someone for us,"

"But, won't that take too long? We're both pretty beat up to be hanging around without any serious medical attention. And I think Lily may have a concussion, but only one of the Apollo kids can tell whether something else is going on,"

"Hmm…You're right, Lily started an earthquake. And it obviously stole memory, and most of her energy, but we don't know what else it did," She frowns. I reposition Lily, reaching out with one hand to Annabeth.

"It'll be fine, we'll figure something else out, before sunrise."

_**Nico's POV**_

My emergency phone rings, but I already know who it is. Nevertheless, I pick up Hazel's call.

"What is going on, Nico?" She demands wildly.

"I'm about to go find out, don't worry. I'll find her." I assure her, hanging up before she can say more.

_Annabeth. _

I need to get to Greece, now. Something terrible is about to happen. And they don't even know it yet.

I toss my phone on my bed, hurdling myself into the shadows of the corner of my room, entering the darkness, to Greece…

I arrive in what I assume to be Athens, seconds later.

"Where are you?" I mutter to myself, thinking back to when Jason, Leo and Piper arrived back to Camp. They were pretty rattled up, they had gone to follow up with Percy, Annabeth, and Lily…

"_We shouldn't have stopped her, it'll be our fault if they don't make it home from Sostis," _I remember Piper, an arm around Jason's waist as they passed me by on the way to the Big House. Probably to give Chiron an update.

Sostis, an island of Greece.

I don't waste another minute in falling back into the shadows, whisking myself off to the island.

And I don't arrive too soon.

He turns his head, and I start running, wondering to myself who it is lying limp in his arms.

_It's not Annabeth. I would've known…_

"Nico?" He calls, at first confused but then, "Nico!" Desperate. He turns full circle now.

It's Lily. But where's…?

"Annabeth, where's Annabeth?" I shout when I reach him.

"I'm right here," I see her, smiling as she turns our way.

"Oh thank the gods," I murmur to myself, watching for a moment as Annabeth comes closer. Was it possible that I was wrong? But then, Lily.

"I…I thought," I begin, my gaze shifting between Annabeth and Lily.

"I'm so happy you're here. We had no way to get home," Annabeth explains, blinking. She shivers. Percy doesn't notice.

I _was _right.

"Annabeth don't move." I command, stepping closer. She doesn't listen.

She takes half a step before falling forward; Straight into my arms, still.

"Annabeth, wait. That's why you're here! Nico what is going on?" Percy shouts at me, as I pick up Annabeth into my arms awkwardly.

"I sensed that something was wrong, that Annabeth was dying. I came right away…And then when I saw Lily, I didn't know what to think, we need to get them both to the infirmary, _now_." I say quickly. Percy merely nods, almost crazily.

"I'll take Annabeth, then I'll be back for you and Lily." Again, a small nod. I turn away from him, rushing to the nearest tree, and shadow travel out.

A welcome party awaits me and Annabeth at Camp, and I know Hazel must've called Chiron the moment I hung up on her.

In a matter of minutes, Annabeth is in the capable hands of the Apollo cabin, and I am on my way back to Sostis.

Percy is waiting exactly where I left him.

"Nico," He cries, as soon as he sees me. I shake my head. Annabeth isn't gone. Her flame is flickering, but not extinguished.

"The Apollo cabin will save her." He frowns, tears dotting his eyes. I force myself to smile, for Annabeth.

"Nico, I should tell you-" He begins, but I cut him off.

"What's important now is getting Lily to the infirmary with Annabeth." I grab his arm, dragging him behind me into the shadows.

This time, I transport us right into the infirmary itself.

"I never said I was sorry," Percy blurts out, as a camper takes Lily from his arms. I look at him.

"You saved Lily's life in Hades' dungeons, and I acted like a jerk. And now, you've saved Annabeth,"

I sigh. _I'm not sure that the second half of that sentence is fact, _I think.

"We're friends, Percy." I try to smile, as I focus on Annabeth's life aura.

"Come on, Annabeth. You're stronger than this." I whisper, glancing back towards the chaos of campers, huddling around their two patients.

"That doesn't mean I get to treat you like scum," He continues behind me.

"Percy, I forgave you. Can we please just focus on Annabeth and Lily?" I say, crossing my arms.

The flame intensifies. _There you go, Annabeth._

"I love you Wise Girl," I hear Percy whisper; I hear him shuffle closer to the scene.

"She's going to survive," I tell him, finally glancing back to him.

I know what Will is going to say, before he says it.

"She's stable. They both are," He smiles as he comes closer, the campers dissipating from around the two cots.

"Oh, thank the gods." Percy sighs beside me.

Will only stays another minute to thank me for getting her here in time (though I wasn't the one who actually saved her), before disappearing into the back room of the infirmary, along with the last of the campers.

Percy and I walk closer to the cots, his breath hitching when he sees Lily, as if he'd just noticed her there.

"Lily…" He mutters, his gaze catching mine, "There's something you need to know about Lily."


	41. Coming Home

_**Lily's POV**_

I wake up to a ceiling other than my own, and immediately freak out.

_Percy and Annabeth_. _They…They kidnapped me?_

"Lily, you're awake." A deep voice speaks, my eyes snapping towards the sound, coming from a pale boy around my age, with messy brown hair, and sad, almost reclusive brown eyes to match.

"How-"

"Percy told me you wouldn't remember. That's fine, I guess I just wanted to be here when you woke up, because that's what friends do, right?" He smiles awkwardly.

"Who are you," I say, my voice so low I'm not even sure I really said anything.

"Nico, Nico Di Angelo."

"Where am I, where did they take me?"

"You're home, back at Camp." He says calmly, in a way that almost makes me afraid.

"I am not home. My home is in California, with my mother, in a small two story house…" I trail off, the hostility in my voice clear. Now, he frowns.

"Lily, your mom…she's," He pauses.

"Not here! Because here, is _not _home." I continue, keeping his gaze. He looks away.

"Maybe I should go," He rubs the back of his neck before standing, and making his way to the door. I panic instinctively.

"Wait! Please, Nico, if you're really my friend…" I hesitate, "You'd let me go home."

He looks back once, without reply, before opening the door, and leaving.

I try to get up myself, multiple times after Nico leaves. But it quickly becomes obvious that I'm much too weak, not to mention the fact that one of my hands has been tied to the bed frame at my side.

What feels like an hour later, someone else comes into the room.

My breath catches when I see who it is.

"_Jason?_" I ask aloud as he walks further into the room. The boy from August 18th. The boy who saved my life, in my dreams.

The moment I say his name, his eyes light up.

"Lily, you remember me?" He asks, rushing up to the bed. I smile, until I realize he is _here _and I am still tied to a bed. He knows Percy, Annabeth, and Nico. He is also, in that matter, keeping me against my will.

"Tell me what's going on. Why won't any of you let me go? Why have you taken me?" I ask his, and his face drops.

"August 18th…" He reminisces, "That's the only reason you remember me. And you believed that was only a dream…Lily, we're not trying to scare you, we didn't kidnap you. This is your home. You have to believe me when I say that!"

I grimace, thinking about the same words to have come from Annabeth, Percy and Nico's mouths.

"I don't know any of you! I just want to go back to California, I just want to see my mom again," I beg, a misguided tear slipping past my eye. His eyes fill with sympathy.

"I'm sorry that we can't let you leave. But you need to remember," He continues, taking a seat on the edge of my bed.

"I trusted you. I remembered you from the 18th. I had no idea what happened that afternoon. And I still don't. All I remember is that you saved my life. And that was real, I mean, you're sitting right in front of me. But you're helping everyone else keep me here, wherever here is." I say again. He looks away from me, and I follow his eyes to a golden iPod on the nightstand by my bed.

"What is that?" I ask, reaching for it. He swats my hand away.

"It's yours. I just thought maybe it would help you remember, but it's too dangerous…" He mutters.

"Whatever…I think you should go." I say, and he returns his eyes to mine.

"Lily,"

"You need to leave, Jason. You're not a hero. You're keeping me from my real home, like the rest of them. Please, just leave. If I'm going to be kept hostage, I want to be alone." I demand. He blinks, but stands anyway, and leaves me there.

"Mom, where are you?" I shout at the ceiling, shutting my eyes.

I fall into a dream without even realizing it…

_In Lily's dreams…_

_A six year old me lays on the ground, coloring in a thin book._

"_Come to me child," I hear the voice. My curiosity sets me off, as I drop the charcoal grey crayon to the page, standing._

_A jagged line draws itself across my howling wolf. The bedroom door opens, and my mom strolls in._

"_Sweetie, it's time for dinner." She smiles sweetly at me. I frown._

"_Mama, I heard it again. The wolf needs me!" I cry, pointing at my coloring book page. Mom walks further in, huffing as she picks up the book._

"_I told you not to draw from this one anymore, Lily! Talking wolves do not exist, I've told you many times it's not fun to lie to mommy about talking wolves." She reprimands me, folding the book under her arm._

"_Mama, I'm not lying! Lupa needs me!"_

"_Lupa isn't real! Now come on, prepare yourself for dinner, Lily. Your tutor is coming over to give you Greek lessons when you're finished eating." Mom says shortly, taking my hand, and nearly dragging me out of the room…_

_In reality…_

Lupa. She needed me…


	42. The Wolf

_**Percy's POV**_

I attempt to visit Annabeth every single day, until she finally can leave the infirmary, an entire week later. And everything goes back to normal, except Lily still hasn't remembered. And according to Will, it may take a lot longer for her memory to return.

Yeah, it worries me. And yeah, Annabeth and I have been blaming ourselves, because maybe if we'd originally let her lead us into battle as she should have, she's still have her memory intact.

We've been trying to avoid going back to the infirmary since Annabeth was discharged, because every time we go back, Lily begs us to let her go, talking on about how the wolf needs her, how she needs…her mom.

Obviously, we can't do that. So we've been avoiding her for another full week.

Today marks the third week since we'd returned from our quest, and we're finally going back into the infirmary.

Third week's the charm? I guess we'll see.

I make every effort to take my sweet time when picking up Annabeth from her cabin. And then, when we make the daunting walk to the infirmary, we take ten minutes just to climb the three step porch.

The door is shut, as usual.

"You ready?" Annabeth asks, squeezing my hand tight. I look down at our hands, folded together.

"Yeah," I decide, pushing the door in gently, just until it's wide enough to step through. I look up from our hands, the moment I hear Annabeth gasp.

"Lily…" She is gone…

The Big House is relatively empty when we arrive, a few lingering campers hanging around on the rocking chairs.

"Chiron!" I call, well before we even get inside. I hear a few gallops, and he enters the hall, from his office.

"Is everything alright?" He asks us, coming closer.

"Lily is-"

"Lily's missing!" Will shouts behind me, coming into the hall, Jason and Nico in tow.

"The rope we used to tie one of her hands to the bed frame, it was severed." Nico pants, holding out the rope. It looks very much like they had run here the moment they found the door open, seconds after Annabeth and I were there.

"How, how did this happen? We _need _to find her, she doesn't even realize that she's a demigod…She could really hurt herself," I yell to the group, dropping Annabeth's hand.

"Wait a minute," Annabeth hushes us, "I think I may know where she's headed."

"She wanted to go home," Jason cuts in, "We need to get to an airport. She must be headed back to California…"

"Actually, I don't think she went home, exactly. There was something she said…" Annabeth trails off, her eyes lighting up once I assume she remembers.

"She needs me…The _wolf _needs me."

"She was rambling, that could mean anything. She had a pretty bad concussion," Will frowns, fiddling with the clip-board in his hands.

"No…I know exactly what that means. And Percy, you do too." Jason tells me, his eyes widening.

_She needs Lily. The wolf needs Lily…_

"There's no way…Lupa…Lily is, she's…" I whisper, the realization hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"She's headed for The Wolf House. She's headed to Lupa." Jason finishes for me.

No. This can't be possible…But, the gods. They were keeping something about Lily's past a secret.

She's…she's a daughter of Neptune.

_Blackjack! _I call for him, as our group leaves the Big House. Chiron has already called Camp Jupiter, to keep a lookout for Lily roaming the streets of California for the Wolf House.

We've figured out that it has been about twelve hours since Lily escaped, thanks to Will's detailed reports regarding all of his patients. So she must already be in California.

In fact, she may even already be at the Wolf House, but if we're lucky we'll find her before she goes anywhere near there.

She can't train with Lupa with no memory of who she is or what she can do…She'll be killed. She doesn't even have her iPod.

_I'm ready Boss. I've got all my buddies prepared._

_Thanks, I owe you a bag of sugar cubes._

_Alright, Boss! _He shouts, happily, as we come into view of the stables.

"I can just shadow-travel us there, you know." Nico asks, for about the fifth time since we left the Big House. I only shake my head. It'll drain him. Transporting Annabeth, Jason, himself and me is too much.

On top of the fact that I know he's only saying it to get out of having to join the long ride aboard the Pegasus. He has nothing against them, but he still seems uncomfortable with it.

"Tell me we're doing the right thing," I turn to Annabeth, as I help her hop onto Short-stack's back.

"This time? Yeah we are Percy. She's needs her memory back before she can train with Lupa to join the Legion. As of right now, it's as if she's a mortal, going into the House. And from what you guys have told me, she won't survive like that." She says slowly, glancing back at Jason.

"We'll find her before it gets that far, Percy. Then when she remembers, she can go back to the House, and prove herself to Lupa." Jason smiles.

I hop onto Blackjack, and after a moment of hesitation, Nico joins us, on Lucky.

And then, we're off to California.


	43. What are Friends For?

_**Lily's POV**_

I'm almost there, I can feel it. I took my opportunity the moment I saw the small scalpel, left behind on nightstand, close enough for me to reach it. And now I'm free, having made it out of that prison, and found my way to California overnight, by plane.

How did I get the money for a ticket? It's really strange to explain, but an old hippy woman gave it to me. When I made it to the highway outside my hostage point, I found her there. She led me to the airport (yeah, yeah, I know. Oh Lily? Why on earth would you just go along with a stranger?!), and from there she handed me the cash.

I trusted the woman, and I guess I was right to.

Now, I stand outside of a coffee shop. I'm going for a cup of ice-tea, before making it to Lupa. Yeah, the hippy gave me that much money.

I limp into the coffee shop awkwardly, ignoring the stares of preppy-er, likely richer men and women that seem to think I'm orphaned.

"Can I please get a medium ice-tea?" I ask the barista, a small smile playing on my lips. She turns her attention down at my bad leg. Apparently I had broken it wherever I had been before being taken to that…that place. I'm still not even sure what to call it, although I'm wearing a shirt exactly the same to the others that were there, that reads Camp Half Blood.

But that sounds even more so like I was taken to some sort of Asylum or something, so…whatever.

"A medium please?" I continue, pretending she hadn't stared. She only shrugs, turning away to prepare the drink.

I wait for another two minutes, pay, and leave as quickly as I can.

Lupa can help me, I know it, she can save me from Percy, and Annabeth, and Nico, and Jason, and everyone else. She can help me find my mother, who wasn't home when I checked this morning.

When I figure out where my mother is, we can be safe, together.

_**Nico's POV**_

"Are we there yet?" I ask, glancing out at the scenery around us. I hear Annabeth stifle a laugh.

"It's only been about three hours Nico, we're in Kansas, about to cross into Colorado. Once we do, we'll take a rest stop with the Pegasus." She explains.

"We need to find a McDonalds."

"Ok, if you want to eat that, we'll find some. We just have to stop in the city, and leave the Pegasus somewhere to rest." She smiles. I shake my head, looking over at her.

"No, I don't want to eat. The McDonalds is for Lily…" I pause, watching as she catches on, her expression darkening.

"Nico, I don't think…"

"She needs to know exactly what happened to her mother. She needs closure, or she'll never recover from this...I think she's blocking her own memories. Because of the trauma…She just doesn't realize it." I continue, breaking her gaze.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. She needs what I needed, uh…" I trail off, imagining the talk I'd had with Bianca so many years ago. "To say goodbye."

"Nico,"

"I'm fine, really. I've already accepted her death and choice to be reborn." I assure her.

She smiles again, nodding, and returning her attention to the sky. We're descending.

"I'll help you remember…Because that's what friends are for." I murmur to myself.

We land gracefully, in a clearing. I can hear the hustle and bustle of city life, fairly close. We'd probably landed in a park in Denver.

"Colorado?" Jason asks, as he hops off of his Pegasus. Percy nods.

"Yup, we're halfway there. We'll let the Pegasus rest for an hour or so, while we all eat, then we'll leave again. We need to get to California today…"

_**Lily's POV**_

The Wolf House. Lupa has beckoned me here, and now here I am.

It's in ruins, merely a mass of stones between rough beams. I can imagine that it would've fallen by now had it not been for Lupa being here. Even from outside, I can feel her aura, I know, it's strange. But it's true. Like the power she has is radiating across the land, previously owned by Jack London.

I make my way inside, through the nonexistent door, cautiously avoiding the massive holes in the foundation. It's dark, despite the holes in the cracking and crumbling ceiling.

"Hello?" I call, reaching a hand into my pocket, even though there's nothing there.

I hear low growling, as a pack of wolves, _huge_ wolves, come into view. By huge I mean, like five feet tall, like the kind of wolves you'd expect when reading a horror story.

I can almost imagine them ripping the flesh from my body now. I step back, again reaching for nothing.

"Stand down!" I hear the command, and the pack stops, inches from my face.

At first I think it's a human voice, but it's clear I'm wrong when another wolf steps into the 'foyer' space. She's beautiful, a coat of thick red fur, silver eyes, even larger than the rest of the dark grey and black wolves.

"Lupa," I bow instinctively. Her lips curl up into a smile. I could swear I see a streak of blood across her teeth. She notices my staring, her smile widening.

"He wasn't prepared, I assure you. Though I'm sure you will be."

I gulp…_HE_.

Yes, I'm insane. I followed a voice in my head, to an abandoned house in ruins, to find a pack of giant wolves and their leader, who has just finished a snack.

But yet, I stay, more determined than ever to seek out my mother and stay away from the others, back at that…that, oh whatever. I guess there still is no name for the place they'd kept me. The place they'd taken me after I'd been kidnapped.

I limp closer to the pack.

"Why did you send for me? What is the purpose of my being here," I ask her, my voice so loud it echoes.

Her smile disappears.

"I respect a demigod who has the strength to speak to a goddess with no restrain."

Demigod…Goddess?

"What?" I blurt out, my eyes falling back to the orange shirt I had woken up in a week ago.

_Camp Half-Blood._

Demigod, half god, half mortal… But that is impossible.

"You heard me, Lily Hestia Reyes. But, I'm not here to help you remember. It isn't my place, if you're really the warrior you were claimed to be at birth, than you should fair my pack well, regardless of the missing memories." She continues, as if I'd said nothing at all.

"I don't even have a weapon," I hear myself agree to the fight. Perhaps even dumber than coming in the first place.

"You shouldn't need one. This is a matter of instinct, if you cannot win, you will die." This time she grins, the blood clearer than before.

I don't know why I say it, or which part of me has the death wish, but…

"Bring it on." Anger I didn't know I had, fuels me.


	44. The Pack of Lies

_**Lily's POV**_

I had a bow and arrow in my hands before I understood what was happening. From the wall, I think, as I dodge the giant dogs charging me.

My senses roar at me, ready to be flexed. My body seems to act on its own, despite my bad leg.

My movements are graceful and fast, like a gazelle. I nock an arrow.

_Click_. It impales my first victim. The wolf whines, in agony, falling sideways at the ground.

"Poisonous arrow, beautiful." Lupa applauds as her pack member stills. I feel the bite into my flesh before I can turn.

"Ah!" I screech, flinging the bow over my shoulder in an attempt to poke the wolf's eye.

It lets go with a short whimper, before attempting the charge me again. The blood flows down my arm in thick gushes.

I can almost see the bone…

I force my arm onto the bow again, biting my lip until I feel the blood seep from it as well. The taste of copper fills my mouth as I shoot down another wolf, nocking and shooting arrow after arrow until I'm positive its dead. Lupa laughs, watching intently off from the distance.

"Style, truly. I hadn't realized you had such great skill in archery, well done."

I hadn't realized either…

I yell, holding out the bow ahead of me as a group of wolves converge on me, pushing me towards the wall.

"I'm killing _your _pack! What is wrong with you?" She grins.

"My pack will be fine. I am a goddess, as I've already told you."

My arm numbs ever so slowly.

The bow string comes closer and closer to my neck, the dogs snarling, reaching as far as they can to bite off my head.

I bang my head back against the wall, shutting my eyes. If this is my last moment on earth, let at least one of them go with me…

The pressure is gone, almost instantly, and open my eyes up again. The dogs lie on the ground, soaking wet, obviously confused.

"The water!" I shout, glancing crazily over at the pool. My eyes lock on the water, and I feel the tug.

_The water_. I say again to myself, the wave rising up out of the pool and dousing the wolves again.

Lupa stands.

"There it is!" She shouts encouragingly, like a proud mother.

I walk into the spray of water, warmth seeping into my arm, and I watch as it heals my arm, to only a delicate pink scar.

Then the wave crashes, onto the dogs. I hear an abrupt _sploosh_ and the dogs stop whimpering. The pressure of the water must've knocked them out cold.

I stand and watch as the water dissipates around the dogs, reversing pace back into the pool, and the tugging in my chest ends. I drop the bow.

"_Don't think Lily. Just do. It's why most of us are born with ADHD. It usually helps us fight better because we can keep our attention on multiple opponents or movements at once."_

"What? What did you just say?" I ask Lupa as I step closer. She shakes her head, her ears twitching.

"I have said nothing, child."

"But…whatever," I shake the thought away, "I defeated your pack. Now, tell me where my mom is." I demand, a new found confidence surging through me.

"You have proven your worthiness. I will not kill you today, child of Neptune-"

"What do you mean _Child of Neptune_?" I nearly shout, the pieces falling into place. Lupa had said I was a demigod. And I'd just proved her right, by defeating her pack.

Somehow, I feel no surprise. She glowers down at me.

"Interruption is extremely disrespectful." She pauses, regaining her composure, "But you have still passed the first test. I will take you under my wing, and you will train by my side until you are ready to leave for the Legion."

"_Jason, though I admire your compassion, Octavian is right. She can't join the Legion until Lupa has tested her."_

My mind wanders to the 18th, and Jason.

"My mom, where is my m-"

"She's dead, Lily." I turn to face the voice, tears already welling in my eyes.

"Nico…You're lying. You came here to take me back to that prison again, you don't want me to find my mother!" I shout angrily, backing away as the entire group moves further into the space. Nico, Jason, Annabeth and Percy.

"I thought you'd say that, but, I have proof." He comes closer, and a new figure glides into the room, a milky white ghost.

_My mom_.

"Sweetie…I'm so sorry." She slides closer, Nico following behind her. I'm tempted to reach a hand out, but instead I fall to my knees.

"No! This isn't real!" I shout, covering my face with my hands.

"Lily, you asked me to be your friend. And that's why I brought your mom's apparition here. So you could say goodbye…" He pauses, and I feel his hand on my shoulder. "Her soul is being sent to the Elysium,"

I open my eyes, tears still flowing, and the rest of the memories come flooding back…

_"Thanks, I'm Lily. Lily Reyes." I told him, and already my voice sound clearer._

_"I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon." He replied. I was shocked. He- he was my __half-brother. __Practically blood relative. I wasn't an only child anymore._

_"I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." She said, though I wasn't exactly listening. I was thinking about Percy. He was my __half-brother__. Those two words have never been that important to me until now._

_"You're my brother, Percy." I blurted out, and I could tell he was shocked too._

_"What?" He asked, in barely a whisper._

_"My mom. She told me before I left who I was. She told me my father was the Sea God Poseidon." I told him._

_"I have a sister? I have a sister! You're my sister!" He yelped in awe, and I saw a faint glow._

_"Children of the Sea, Child of Wisdom,_

_Mother's lieutenant reclaims his kingdom._

_A meeting with Rome in the East, seals his fate,_

_Quests intertwine for a change, nearly too late._

_The Daughter of Poseidon, cursed to failure,_

_Wrath may be her only savior."_

_"None of this is your fault Nico. What your father did has nothing to do with you. I trust you, and I came here because I need a friend." I assure him, giving him a small smile as I sit on the bed next to him. His eyes widen only slightly._

_"I'm your friend? After everything I've done to you. After all the suffering I've inflicted?" He questions me, while awkwardly rubbing his skull ring._

_"If you want me to be…I mean…I'm not __so__ good at the friend thing. My best friend turned out to be a monster that almost killed me and I kind of feel like Annabeth pities me…I just-" I explain, slightly flustered at the way he looks at me, until he interjects._

_"I'll be your friend." He decides, raising his hand as if to give me a hand shake._

_I hug him instead, knowing I've taken him by surprise, and possibly that I've crossed the line. But I really need it. And by the way he returns the hug slowly, I know he needed it too._

_"I'm sorry I couldn't go back to help you Lily. Things got really complicated after I met you, there was nothing I could do. If I had known you were Percy's half-sister…You know what, how about we start over. I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." He continues, giving me a bright white smile. I step forward just enough to separate myself from my brother and Annabeth._

_"Nice to meet you Jason, I'm Lily Reyes, daughter of Poseidon." I reintroduce myself, already feeling a lot less threatened in his presence. I think I can understand complicated. One of the things we all have in common is our demigod-liness. We stand there for a minute, smiling at the newly formed friendship, until finally Percy intervenes._

_You insolent girl! Be it as you wish, you shall die alongside your mother! __She shouts in my mind, the ground shifting again._

_I fall again as the ground begins to open up again, pushing the grass and trees around it down._

_"Mom!" I yell, trying to grab for her nonexistent hand as I get pulled in myself._

_BLACKJACK, SHORT-STACK! MARION PARK! PLEASE HELP ME?! __I yell in my mind like a maniac, barely grasping at the bit of solid ground ahead of me._

_Tears sting my face as I watch my mom's face slip under the dirt once again, gone._

_"No, no, no!" I shout, weakly trying to pull myself up out of the widening hole. My legs are dangling below me, and every time I pull myself out an inch, the ground sinks another._

_This can't be happening! __I shut my eyes, grasping at open air until finally I miss with one hand. I drop an entire foot, the hole continuing to widen as I hold on for dear life with one hand._

_I sit, watching the moon, with my iPod at my side, one earbud in, listening to calming smooth jazz. The oval of mist opens up ahead of me, blocking out the moon. Jason's face, along with two other's I don't recognize, appear._

_"Hey, Lily." He greets._

_"Whoa, that's Percy's sister? If I wasn't with Calypso I'd totally think she was hot," The boy sitting on Jason's left says, earning him a swift slap to the head by the girl on Jason's right._

_"Shut up, Leo…" She pauses, looking back at me, "Nice to meet you Lily, I'm Piper." She waves. I smile._

_Blood is still seeping from my side, and quite frankly I'm beginning to actually get dizzy. The earthquake has stolen most of my energy, not to mention it's probably off the Richter Scale, and still goes strong._

_I guess Apollo's gift was finally wearing off, and it serves me right for not learning to train properly when I had the chance._

_But I can make up for it. Just before the giant's fist slams into me, I roll to the side, pushing myself to stand. My legs are barely supporting my weight, but I force them to move and run to the edge regardless._

_Just as I expect, the giant follows me, both of us shaking hard in our swift movements. I can hear Annabeth screaming somewhere behind us, but I can't make out the words. I know I'm about to do something really stupid, but if it's the only way I'll get the giant off the edge, then it's worth it._

_Praying to my dad that he won't let me die…_

_I jump…_

_I reach for the nonexistent branch in the rock face, falling faster than I can comprehend. Both the giant and I hit the water with a huge splash, and a bubble of air encapsulates me, before I can sink far enough to lose consciousness._

"_Lily, you've truly proven yourself today. Now, Juno may have destroyed your memory and changed your destiny, but you are a hero, and you must forgive me for not giving you the chance I should have, my daughter…" The voice whispers to me, calming, and warm. My father._

"_Poseidon?"_

"_Not exactly, but it doesn't matter. You may call me, Dad."_

"_Annabeth, and Percy…"_

"_They'll be fine, you however? That remains to be seen." If I were able to see him in that moment, I suppose a frown would take on his features._

"_Dad, what…what do you mean?"_

"_I have said too much already, Annabeth is worried, she thinks you are dead. You won't remember our conversation when you wake, not until the right moment. You've pulled the first string, Lily, and the knot will soon fall apart…"_

"Lily," Nico whispers, pulling me out of my trance. _Nico, NICO._

My first instinct is to pull him into a tight hug as the tears flow harder. My mom is dead. I'm not Poseidon's daughter, but Neptune's. And there's more, I've yet to discover about my past.

"You remember…" He continues, as I cry into his shoulder, both of us still slumped on the ground.

"My mom, she made it to Elysium?" I pull away, wiping my eyes. My mom's ghost is gone.

"Yeah, she did. We found out what Hera did. Who you are…"

Annabeth, Percy, and Jason come closer to us. Lupa only watches silently, nearby.

"I'm happy we got here in time," Percy smiles lightly, kneeling down beside Nico.

"Actually, Perseus Jackson," Lupa interrupts, all of us turning to face her, "You did not arrive before her first test. She is under my care now. You and Jason Grace both understand the process,"

I turn back to them both.

"She's right. I passed her test. I have to stay with Lupa. I'm going to join the Legion," I say, matter of fact-ly. But I still do feel my heart sink as I say the words. They are my family and friends. In the last month or so, they've been there. How can I just leave that behind so easily?

Jason steps closer to Lupa.

"Look, My Lady-" She interrupts yet again. I fight the urge to retort, 'interruption is extremely disrespectful…'

"Jason, you may call me Lupa. You have proven yourself many, _many_ times at my doorstep."

"Lupa, with all due respect, Lily is already home to Camp Half Blood, whether she's a fellow Roman or not. Everything she's ever known is there, she can't just pack up her bunk and move out to California out of nowhere because of her newfound heritage." He explains for me. Annabeth steps up next to him.

"Jason is right. Now, I know I have no say in your presence, I've never been tested by you, nor have I been in the Legion like my friends," She points over at Jason, Percy, and Nico. "But Lily cannot stay. You have to understand, she's already got a home to care for her. And that's back in Long Island, with all of us…" She trails off.

Nico helps me to stand; Percy moving closer to the scene, taking Annabeth's hand in his.

I begin speaking before he can.

"I want to stay." And everyone's eyes are on me, at once.

I force myself to keep going, before I lose my nerve.

"It's really sweet that you came to save me from myself, and that you all care so much. But I want to finish my training with Lupa. And when I'm done, I'll be heading back to Camp Half Blood, _not _Camp Jupiter."

"Let her stay," Nico turns his attention from me, to the rest of the group.

"The whole reason any of this happened was because we weren't sure she was ready. We didn't let her decide, we didn't let her lead. She deserves to make her own choices. She's rea-she's _been _ready all this time."

"Thank you, you don't understand how much what you just said means to me…" I say, the heat rising in my cheeks. I notice Jason glance my way, seemingly curious, but he says nothing.

"You know what? It is your choice Lily. This entire quest I've been taking your choices from you, and I won't let it happen again now." Percy decides, his eyes shining. It looks as if he's going to tear. I fight back some of my own.

"I will come home when I'm done here. But right now, I have to learn by Lupa's side, and become the person I know I can be." I smile.

"Well, it seems she has made her choice. Welcome to your new, temporary home, Lily." Lupa smiles herself, her teeth showing white, not a stain of blood where there had been a mess.

_I won't fail this time. Or I'll be the next stain that vanishes from her sharp canines._

"Thank you, Lupa." I bow respectively.

"Now, before we begin. It appears that someone wishes to speak with you…"


	45. Daughter of who now?

_**Lily's POV**_

"So you're Hera?" I say slowly, glaring up at the gigantic goddess. For whatever reason, she seems to take this as a gesture of gratitude.

"Oh yes, I am. You're welcome, darling. I love it when a hero becomes my Champion!" She smiles, giddy.

"Why am I here?" I continue, dryly. I'd never dreamed I'd be on Olympus, but here I am, in a nearly empty throne room with a twenty foot tall Queen.

This time, she notes my annoyance.

"Tsk, tsk. That's no way to address the Lady who saved you from a short lived life that would've ended at Mount Othyrs." She frowns, shrinking down until she is about my height. She steps forward, and I decide to bow.

"There you go, you seem to find manners where they are lost in other demigods."

"What do you mean you saved me?" I ask, as I straighten again.

"Ah yes. Well, if I hadn't interfered with your destiny, Reyna would have allowed you temporary admittance to the Legion on the 18th to make up for their own lack of fighters, and you would've died by Jason's side, as he destroyed Kronos' throne, a silent casualty."

"Oh my-"

"But that is not the reason I called you forth today," She continues. I have to fight the urge to turn and run out of the solid gold doorway. I was supposed to die, three years ago.

_I shouldn't be alive_.

"Why would you ever save me? I've never done anything to deserve this," I blurt out. The goddess places a hand on my shoulder, but it's clear she isn't sure where to start.

"I saved you because I knew you deserved better…Lily, in your past life-"

"Past life?"

"Yes, in your past life you were a demi-titan, named Aurora, of Eos. She was the Titaness of Dawn." She pauses, removing her arm, and stepping back. "You should take a seat," A chair appears to my right.

I do.

"You were an innocent child, given immortality by my mother Rhea, after your father's death by Alexander the Great…"

"My father…he knew Alexander the Great? Like, _the _Alexander the Great?"

She nods.

"You joined the Hunters of Artemis, as one of her first maidens, at your eternal age of 12. But you were cursed. Aphrodite hated your mother, she was the reason entirely, why you were born. Anyways, Aphrodite saw another chance to get her revenge on Eos. Hundreds of years since you'd joined the Hunters, you were cursed to fall in love with a boy by the name of Ian, and lost your immortality and affiliation with the Hunters. You were killed in an attack by Aphrodite herself, in the First Titan War, years later, after you had your first child with Ian."

"How am I even here right now?" I ask her, unable to picture myself in that time, with a husband, and a child.

"You were judged and sent to Elysium, once Aphrodite's misdeeds were known. You chose rebirth, and now here you are. My mother Rhea told me your story, and when I saw what the Fates had in store, I just couldn't let things be. I am the goddess of Marriage and Motherhood. And you were a mother, taken from her faithful husband and daughter. You were simply caught in a battle between Aphrodite and Eos. So I gave you a second chance."

My anger all but dissolved in that moment, replaced with utter joy. I was alive. Hera did that. So that I could be as happy as I almost was, in my past life…

"I…I don't even know what to say," I whisper, thinking back to my fight with Lupa's wolves. The first thing I grabbed was a bow. And I did wonderfully with it. Maybe a tiny bit of leftover Huntress inside of me.

"You were the first and only demi-titan." She concludes, a chair appearing behind her as she takes a seat.

"I just can't believe this…" I mutter to myself, glancing up at the ceiling.

"And you are also the first to choose rebirth, who knows now of their past."

"Why did you tell me?"

"Because I think you should know why I did what I did, in altering your childhood to change the Great Prophecy. It is the same thing I will tell my Husband. Surely he will understand as you have, my actions."

"Lady Hera…" I pause, figuring out the words. "If I had died on the 18th, would Gaea have risen?"

"No one will know for sure. What's done is done. The Fates can no longer glance back to see what once was. The original prophecy is gone, replaced with yours."

"So…you were the reason my mother thought my father was Poseidon, his Greek counterpart?"

"Yes, when Lupa first began calling for you at the Wolf House, I was there to make you forget. I changed your mother's memories, so that she would believe you belonged with the Greek campers of Camp Half Blood, so you'd be the recipient of the next Great Prophecy." She explains to me, smiling at her own handy work.

"You manipulated my entire life…So that I would live…So I could have the life I lost." I repeat back slowly.

"Manipulation is a strong word, Lily. I merely pushed you in the right directions."

"I guess that I…I just can't believe that any of this is happening…"

"Yes, well…I'm happy to have been the one to give you this opportunity in life. I should return you to your friends, at the Wolf House. They seem to be rather worried about what has been taking so long. Goodbye Lily Reyes."

And with that, my vision went dark…


	46. Trust Me, It's Ok to Fall

_**Lily's POV**_

I wake up outside of the rickety doors to the Wolf House, my leg throbbing.

"Oh right, I'd forgotten about you," I mutter bitterly, as I force myself up.

I walk in slowly, replaying the conversation I'd had with Hera, over and over in my head.

Jason is the first one to notice my return.

"What happened?" He asks me, as I step closer to the group. Everyone turns to face me.

"Hera happened." I say, stopping about a foot from the group. What do I say now?

"What did _she _do?" Annabeth asks. I say nothing for another minute.

"Well, for starters…she saved my life."

"What?" She questions me. I frown, grabbing my arm awkwardly.

"I should've died three years ago,"

"How…I don't understand," Nico steps forward, his eyes full of concern. The force of the situation hit me at last.

_I should've did three years ago._

"I should not be standing here right now, Hera changed my destiny so I could be the child of prophecy." I sway a little at the thought of my body being six feet under while my soul was hanging out in the Fields of Asphodel, but hold my own.

"When were you supposed to die?" Nico asks me, stepping even closer.

"August the 18th. The day I first met Jason. I was supposed to die in that battle in California."

"But I took you home, how could you have died at home?"

"You wouldn't have brought me home had Hera left things alone. You would've convinced Reyna to let me stay with you to help the fighters. I was supposed to die as you won."

All eyes widen.

"But why? Why did she save you?"

A question I still can't answer myself. After all that Hera had said, it was mostly out of pity.

I don't know how to say that to them.

I sigh.

"Can we…maybe talk about this later?" I feel my cheeks burn with shame. I just…don't know what else to say.

"Lily, you're going to train with Lupa for the next…" Percy pauses, pleading to me. "However many long months. Please, if you have something to tell us, do it now."

"Do you trust me?" I blurt out. So much has happened over the course of this quest. And so far it's all revolved around the fact that they all thought I would fail.

No, I'm not bitter, or angry. But I still have to know.

If they trust me, they'll let me tell them when I'm ready. They'll believe me when I say it can wait.

"Lily,"

I look directly into his eyes.

"Do you trust me?" I repeat. There is no hesitation.

"Yes, of course I trust you. I made a huge mistake during your quest, and I won't make it again." I break the stare, turning to face Lupa.

"Then I'm ready to begin my training."

"Very well, Lily." The look in her eyes tells me she knows exactly what Hera had told me, but she won't break my confidence. The loyalty a wolf shows to her pup, I think.

"You should all prepare to leave. I will send you back in the company of my pack, to protect you. I have great respect for all of you, heroes." Lupa declares to my friends. The wolves I had killed/knocked out earlier, step out from the shadows, without a scratch.

The one that nearly bit my arm off, steps close enough to nuzzle my arm.

I flinch hard, but no one else seems to notice other than Lupa, who grins knowingly.

After a moment, I pat the wolf's head gently, and it steps away from me.

"Lupa, may I stay a bit longer? I need to speak to Lily, in private." Jason speaks up, emphasizing the 'in private' for the rest of the group.

She nods. And everyone except Jason comes over to say goodbye.

"I'll be back before summer ends, I promise." I tell them, as I give out hugs one by one.

"Yes you will. You will not miss your first bead ceremony." Annabeth warns playfully, smiling lightly.

"I have to admit. It'll be great having a cabin all to myself again," Percy adds, hugging me before turning away, hand in hand with Annabeth, and walking off towards the doors, where part of the pack waits.

I smile at Nico, as awkward as ever, praying he doesn't notice the blush.

"Thank you, Nico."

"You make it sound like this is the last time I'll see you," He crosses his arms behind his back, shuffling absently on his feet, like he can't think of anything else to say.

"I just mean, well, thanks for being my friend through all of this. You actually had faith in me, not to mention the fact that you've saved my life more times in one week than I'd imagined was humanly possible."

"Oh…well," He trails off, staring at the ground. I still see the smile grow across his face.

"And what you did today. You made me remember. You let me say goodbye to my mom…" This time, I'm the one who falls silent.

He looks up again.

"I was just doing what I knew I would've wanted in your place."

"Either way, thanks." He pulls me into a hug. I close my eyes for a second, taking in the moment.

As we start to pull away, I almost decide to kiss him.

I don't, but begin regretting it as soon as he starts walking off to the others.

Finally, Jason walks up to my side as they leave, collectively turning back to give one last wave.

"You like Nico," The words startle me so badly, I nearly trip over myself as I turn to face Jason, suddenly overly defensive.

"No I do not." I lie. My voice betrays me horribly.

"Lily, it's seriously obvious. But…" I stop him.

"Look Jason, I really hope you're not about to try and get me to make the first move." I say pointedly, admitting it, to him, and a bit to myself.

He sighs.

"Lily. Just listen alright?" I nod. "Nico's gay."

I try to hide the pain I'm sure registers in my face. I stand there, shocked, for what feels like an hour, before I have the nerve to say anything to him.

He watches me carefully.

"Oh."

"I'm so sorry, Lily."

"Oh."

About the only word I can manage right now. My heart feels as if it's fallen right out of my chest.

"I'm so stupid…" I mutter to myself. Jason places a hand under my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

"I just didn't want to watch you fall any harder, when I knew Nico wouldn't return your feelings." His hand drops.

"I must've been making him so uncomfortable. I never even thought about how he felt, only of myself." I mumble again, just loud enough that Jason hears it too.

"I didn't tell you so you could beat yourself up over it. There's nothing you can do to help who you love…" He pauses. "I'm going to tell you something."

I stay quiet.

"Hera took my memory once too. During the Second Giant War. Reyna and I, well I'm still not even completely sure, but I think we loved each other, or at least it was going in that direction, before Hera wiped my mind clean."

"But, what about Piper?"

"I woke up without my memories on a bus, sitting next to Piper and Leo. Turns out she'd warped their memories too. Piper had believed she and I were already dating. And, at first…I didn't know what to think. But, I fell in love with Piper, and she re-fell in love with me. And I will always love her. Now that I think about it, no matter how things used to be with Reyna I knew deep down that I really loved Piper, and not just because of her 'installed feelings' curtesy of Hera. Even after I had found out about Reyna, I couldn't stop myself from falling hard for Piper."

"I still don't understand…Why are you telling me all of this?"

"I'm trying to get you to understand that you couldn't help falling for Nico, like I couldn't help loving Piper. It doesn't matter that Nico is gay, or whether or not you knew it, like it didn't matter that I had liked Reyna before, whether or not I remembered it. You can't just tell your heart what to do."

I nod slowly, though the anger at myself still swells in my chest.

"Are you ok?"

I say nothing.

Jason steps closer, embracing me tightly.

"Thanks for telling me," I whisper as we pull away from each other. He smiles lightly.

"Yeah, well, I should get going. The others probably stopped to wait for me. And you've got some training to do," He turns to Lupa, bowing. "Thanks, Lupa for allowing my friends and me to interrupt for a while. You've got a true warrior here,"

"I suppose we'll find out. Goodbye Jason." Jason leaves shortly after, leaving Lupa and I to ourselves.

"Shall we?" She smirks, the mischievous glint returning to her eyes.

"Let's do this,"


	47. Human Interaction

_**Lily's POV- A month later…**_

The past few weeks had gone by in a flash. Let's just put it lightly, I've had as many near death experiences as one person should have in twenty or more life times. I've gotten over my crush. And I've gotten stronger.

"Lupa," I breathe, nearly hyperventilating as I kneel in front of her. "My skills in archery, have improved…so…greatly…and I…have to…"

"Take your breaths, Lily. You have proven yourself many a time already."

I bow my head, shutting my eyes, and calming my breathing.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Lupa."

I look up. My grip closes around my silver bow, on the ground before me.

"You will be quite the Huntress when you return to Artemis' side." She smiles.

I avert my eyes.

"Lupa, I don't think-"

"We've already spoken of this matter, Lily. Understand that you will fall back into step with Artemis, whether you begin now, or later. It is who you are. You have the spirit of a Hunter. Something that had not been lost in your rebirth."

My mind travels back to the chat I'd had with Jason, Annabeth and Percy, on our quest. I'd promised them I'd never join the Hunters. And I still don't feel any kind of affiliation to the Hunters, I don't feel any want to join them.

But Lupa…

"I understand Lupa."

"Show me your sword, Lily." I let go of the bow and stand, reaching into my pocket for my iPod.

I take it out, and press Play, watching as it lengthens into an Imperial Gold beauty. In Lupa's live-or-die care, I've also been able to improve my swordsmanship.

"Do you know the origins of your sword, Lily?" She asks me. I shake my head.

She motions for me to look away.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a flash, and when I turn back I no longer stand before a large she-wolf, but instead before a beautiful woman.

She has bright red hair, cut into a pixie style. Her silver eyes remind me a bit of Annabeth's, but shine more like the moon than anything else. She wears a flowing gown, the same silver of her eyes, and stands barefoot.

"I'm not one to use any other form than that of the wolf. But for this, I believe it would be easier as a human, Goddess to demigod." Lupa explains, and when she opens her mouth I notice that her canines are abnormally much longer than the rest.

I try not to stare.

"So…my sword." I decide to stare at it instead of at Lupa's scarily sharp teeth, but the Imperial Gold decides to give me an eerily clear reflection of them regardless.

"Yes, it takes the form of whatever the beholder finds most dear to them. For you, a device carrying music, music that allows you to hide from your problems." She says smoothly, stepping closer to take the sword into her hands.

Her nails too are silver, except I can still see flecks of blood caught underneath her nails, from previous snacks…

She graciously takes the sword hilt into her hand, and holds it above her head.

"The last beholder was your father, Alexander's friend," She clarifies.

"It was a gift from your mother, to help him protect you both, from the creatures she knew would be after you."

"I was the first demi-titan. And she knew that meant I was in for a dangerous life." I continued for her. She nodded.

"After your father died, and you joined the Hunt, your mother had another weapon crafted in your behalf, out of the gold used for your father's sword. It was a bow. A beautiful piece that you used to the day you died."

"It was always your weapon of choice, and when you chose rebirth, Rhea took the bow out of its confinement and gave it to your father Neptune. And he gave it to your mother. I understand you had only received it the first time for your sixteenth birthday,"

I nod. She smiles.

"Really Lupa, thank you for everything."

She nods, motioning for me to turn away again.

When I turn back, she is a wolf again.

"It may still return to its original form if you will it. The bow was really quite beautiful," She tells me, lying on the floor.

I take my cue and turn my sword back into an iPod, sheathing it in one of my pockets.

I pick up my bow again.

"Is my mother, I mean Eos…Is she still alive?" It may be a stupid question, but I can't help myself.

"She faded a while ago, actually."

I frown.

"I don't know why I asked, I guess maybe I thought…My mortal mother is gone, maybe I would've at least had my Titaness mother." I admit.

"You need not dwell on the past any longer Lily. Not when you have a long future,"

I nod. "Yes, Lupa."


End file.
